Jaggy's Corner - Sunday November 4

It’s November peeps and that means a number of things for me like birthday’s coming up, National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo), and BlizzCon.

Sadly I am not in Anaheim, California to see what BlizzCon has to offer but there have been a number of big announcements that I’d like to cover.

Destiny 2

After Mike Morhaime passed the torch to the new president of Blizzard Entertainment, the first big reveal for me was the news that Destiny 2 would be free for anyone who logged into Battle.net before November 18th. It’s important to note that players will only have access to the base game for free with Curse of Osiris and Warmind already included. Forsaken, the newest DLC content will not be included in the Destiny 2 content. Still, if players wanted to give the game a shot without committing to a dollar amount, this is the way to go!

Celebrate the anniversary of Destiny 2's PC launch with a free game download.

Claim your free gift on Blizzard https://t.co/roHUYkBnm4 now through November 18th! pic.twitter.com/oY10tz8vJh

— Destiny The Game (@DestinyTheGame) November 2, 2018

That’s great for new players but fear not! Veteran players will receive an exclusive gift that supposedly includes a new emblem, shader, and two exotic emotes! That said, we don’t have further information on this fact except for the quick mention from Steve Cotton, the developer of Destiny 2: Forsaken, and the BlizzCon official news post. We do know that the content will be available in December so keep your eyes peeled for that!

And just to sweeten the deal, there is also a free trial of the Gambit mode from November 9-11th for existing players. This is a new mode introduced into Destiny 2 which blends both multiplayer and monster slaying elements in a 4 versus 4 match. Players collect currency to summon a boss, hopefully before the other team. This boss will help to take down the opponents so that your team can win. It’s a mode that also allows enemy players to jump into your map. It’s an interesting interpretation of a PVP map and I haven’t played much of it, but it is fun!

Starcraft 2

After all of the amazing additions and changes to Starcraft 2 over the years, Blizzard has an excellent handle on giving all types of players content like the arcade maps, co-op missions, immersive single player campaigns across three expansions, and high level competitive play through the World Championship Series. At BlizzCon, it was announced that there would be a new co-op commander available to purchase. The familiar Protoss leader Zeratul finally enters the ring and I’m excited.

Zeratul is outfitted with all sorts of interesting abilities that players will be able to use and those abilities will revolve around something called Prophetic Vision. With it, he will be able to located Xel’Naga artifact fragments to improve his combative ability in a co-op match. He will be able to call down units, get artifact enhancements, and use a couple of top bar abilities. Each top bar ability will have different customizable options that will suit the player’s style depending on the map for that week.

A full write up of the new co-op commander and detailed descriptions of all the abilities can be found directly on the Starcraft 2 website. Players will also be able to watch a video showcasing the new abilities. You can check that out here.

Warcraft III: Reforged

Perhaps the most exciting news of the day was the announcement of Warcraft III: Reforged. Essentially, Blizzard is bringing back Warcraft III with a ton of new updates. Let me just say that as a person who loved Warcraft II: The Tides of Darkness, I’m super excited to play the legendary game that I never had the chance to play. In fact, I can’t wait to get back to playing as the Horde once again. A player can leave Azeroth, but they can never leave their allegiance. FOR THE HORDE!

*Ahem* Back to what I was saying… The character animations have been updated, the UI has changed for the better, there are tons of player created custom games, and more! Not only have they added a ton of content to the game, but they’ve rebalanced the heroes and units to bring it up to today’s standards of the RTS genre. And one more thing, they’ve even gone as far as adding 4k capability! I mean, what’s not to love?!

Be sure to check out all the information available about Warcraft III: Reforged on the website.

Overwatch

Combined with a new animated short which introduces the relationship between the new hero and McCree, Overwatch has a new hero. Her name is Ashe and she has a western feel, much like McCree but with a different fighting style. You see, Ashe’s family paid little attention to her so she created her family. That family is the Deadlock gang who has a reputation for being tough as nails. Ashe is the leader of this gang. Together they steal various objects for monetary gain, presumably.

In terms of how Ashe plays in Overwatch, she has a number of abilities at her disposal like a semi-automatic rifle that also has the ability to do precise shots, the use of dynamites for AOE damage, a heavy knock back ability, and she can summon a sidekick comically named “B.O.B.” With all of her abilities and knowledge, Ashe will be a force to be reckoned with on the Overwatch battle field.

Another Overwatch related announcement is Blizzard teaming up with Kellogg’s to release the new “Lucio-Oh’s” cereal, and it will be available to buy in December. Not only will players receive the food contained in the box, but they also will receive loot boost codes to use in-game. As we know, players are all about that fat loot!

In tandem with the cereal, right now players can download a full album of Lucio music. But, get it quickly because it is only available until November 20th! The album is titled Synaesthesia Auditiva and the music has a distinct chillstep yet up tempo sound. I actually quite like it, in truth. Anyways, get the music here while you can!

Other Mentions

There were many other interesting things announced at BlizzCon like new content for Heroes of the Storm, HearthStone, and the dreaded Diablo III mobile game. I’m sure the game will be fine but many are not enthused. (All you have to do is watch the videos with the crowd booing its announcement. On a second side note: The fact that the crowd was more excited for a cereal that was originally a joke than a full game baffles me. Although, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised because Pandas were not technically part of the World of Warcraft lore until they made an April fool’s joke into a full expansion for the game, so what do I know?)

Anyways, yes, the mobile market has increased drastically over the last couple of years. Yes, virtually everyone has mobile devices. And while it is true that businesses want to expand their player base, taking a beloved franchise into the mobile market was a gamble that Blizzard lost, in my opinion. I would argue that the reason Blizzard lost the gamble is because they came at it from behind. Diablo III was a train wreck at launch and it basically blew itself into shrapnel when the auction house was released. And yes, I know they admitted that the auction house was a mistake, causing them to take it out of the game, the damage had already been done. Later, Blizzard tried to resurrect Diablo III with the launch of Reaper of Souls. This expansion added challenges like rifts and seasonal characters, which brought a ton of players back to the game, but other Blizzard games are infinitely more popular than Diablo III.

Now, Blizzard has done many fantastic things for gaming in terms of optimization, RTS balancing, new content, etc… But, when it comes to the Diablo franchise specifically, the mobile Diablo announcement is a huge disappointment. While I respect that Blizzard is trying to bring the franchise back to life by expanding into a newer space (to them), they shot themselves in the foot by saying that there were no plans to make Diablo: Immortal available for PC version, even in the future. (Not that that is a bad thing because mobile to PC ports haven’t always been great. I’m sure Blizzard would do it properly if it became a PC ported game but still, I’m not onboard.)

Final Thoughts

I’m extremely excited for Zeratul in Starcraft 2, despite the fact that I can’t protoss to save my life. He brings a new dynamic to the current mutation maps that I’m sure many players will test out. I’m also extremely hyped for Warcraft III: Reforged since I never had the chance to play the game during the glory days. I’m even mildly excited for the Overwatch community because Ashe looks badass. She’s a tough cookie and I like her style. And along with the Overwatch announcements, while I’m not a big fan of a cereal, I enjoy the music album.

I think with most of the announcements that I read about or saw in the opening ceremonies on Twitch, I’m pleased with where Blizzard games are going. I can’t wait to see how all of these games flourish with the new content.

Also, I’m sad that Mike Morhaime, after 20+ years with Blizzard Entertainment, has stepped down from CEO of the company and will fulfill an advisory role to Blizzard. During the opening ceremonies, he has passed the torch to his colleague and friend, J. Allen Brack - the executive producer of World of Warcraft and 12+ year veteran of Blizzard. He will valiantly aim to fill the giant shoes left by Mike Morhaime. And while I’m sure Brack will do very well in his new position, many Blizzard fans (myself included) will miss Mike’s ambition and passion.

To Mike Morhaime I say good luck to you in the future. Your continued passion for video games through the years has brought many of us together as a family. Thank you for everything.

Check out the BlizzCon coverage with the virtual ticket which can be purchased here. If not, there is plenty of coverage from community members, so be sure to follow the hashtag #BlizzCon2018 on Twitter!

What’s the most exciting announcement for you? Let us know in the comments below!

Article by Susan N.

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Jaggy's Corner! - Saturday May 26

This article isn't going to be easy to write and that's for good reason. Many of you may not know this but while writing this I've been crying, allowing mascara to run down my face as it hits the ground for a person I never actually had the chance to meet. It stings my eyes and I have felt very ill while typing this article. It sucks because this is by far the hardest article I'll ever write. Good thing I can touch type because this would have been impossible...

Let me tell you about my experiences as a viewer to the amazing life of John "Totalbiscuit" Bain.

Introduction to TotalBiscuit

Many years ago I got into a little known MMO called World of Warcraft. Hell, if there are people out there that AREN'T familiar with the game, I'd be really surprised. Anyways, I was questing in a zone that had just come out with a group of people that were pugged to complete a 5 man quest. The next day, my account was hacked and I thought one of those four people was the culprit. Out of those people, the one person I talked to after I got my account back ended up becoming a real life friend.

Nev introduced me to BluePlz and that is how I first heard the tales of Kungen. Though, I only had two episodes and I didn't even know what a podcast was at the time. Often I just listened to the story when it began playing in my iTunes list. That's how this whole thing started, though I didn't know anything about the man behind the voice.

A few years later, I became invested in the Starcraft 2 community where I started to watch YouTubers like Husky, Day9, and Lowko. It was then that I discovered professional esports and how I became reintroduced to TB for a second time. He casted a few matches and somehow I ended up with the knowledge of him being part of The Game Station Podcast. It was at this point that I recognized the voice but didn't understand why until much later. You see, TB talked about the WoW Radio days on the TGS podcast and how he used to have the nickname of BluePlz. That's when the lightbulb flickered on. I finally understood why the voice was familiar... This man was Kungen.

The Podcast

Because of the TGS podcast, which eventually became the Co-Optional Podcast, I was introduced to amazing gaming influencers like Angry Joe, Jim Sterling, Danny O'Dwyer, Margaret Krohn, and so many other wonderful people – none of whom I've met IRL.

Through TB's YouTube channel, I learned about other video games because of the "WTF is...?" series. Sometimes I'd yell at the screen about how wrong TB was about a game until one day when he said, "It's alright to have a different opinion of a game." I felt like a rebel for liking certain games he didn't, but that's alright. We're different people.

I came to respect his content and his impact in Starcraft and in gaming. I made it mandatory to watch all of the podcasts, no matter what it took. I needed to know what games were coming out and the big gaming news each week. I had planted my flag.

TB never let me down as a viewer. I understood that everyone has an opinion since everyone has different criteria for gaming. He taught many how to critically think about the gaming industry and its developers. He also taught people that we have to hold everyone accountable for their actions – or sometimes inaction. We must put our money where our mouths are and not pre-order incomplete games that only showcase pre-rendered footage instead of actual game play. As in, he taught the industry to be shepards, not sheep.

I recall seeing a video where Jesse, Dodger, and TB played Just Dance. The dancing prowess of the three of them was not fantastic but it was great fun to watch. I mean, we're talking about a group of people who were truly best friends that, from a viewer perspective, were always together. Having such close friends when you're in the eyes of the gaming world or celebrity world, is very valuable to maintaining ones sanity.

I also remember that TB, Jesse, and Dodger had the unique opportunity to work with Guillermo Del Toro on a hammy fan made promo video for the movie Pacific Rim. At the time, I knew nothing about the movie but after this promo video, I decided to give it a go. I ended up enjoying the movie without knowing much about it. The selling point? The voice of GLaDOS from the portal series. Truly. You can experience that magical video below.

Starcraft 2

Many might know that for a couple of years Totalbiscuit founded his own professional Starcraft 2 team that consisted of Koreans that did not speak English well. He respected his players and gave them every opportunity he could at the time. He wanted Starcraft 2 to continue thriving. TB's dedication to Starcraft rivals that of Artosis, Tasteless, and Day9 in my opinion.

Anyways, the ongoing issue of the team sat under two umbrellas. TB had moved to the United States and therefore was challenged in his ability to meet the players in person. The second umbrella of issue was the massive language barrier. In a comical twist, the Korean language does not have a precise translation for "TotalBiscuit". As a result, the Korean players called him the equivalent to "the sum total of all the cookie." He really was the whole cookie but I digress...

AXIOM, the team he founded, ended up taking a side line later on. It was too much to continue to run the team, despite his best efforts. I believe that was when TB begun having issues with his health. Like everything else, he tackled the disease head on. Not only that, but he wouldn't let it stop him from putting on the ShoutCraft Clan Wars – his own created tournament. He kept that going for as long as he could in order to keep the toughest RTS on the market alive.

John, thank you for everything. We will miss you. pic.twitter.com/wbmuqNAQem

— Blizzard Entertainment (@Blizzard_Ent) May 25, 2018

Health

After news of his health had come out, a number of things happened. Sadly, in my haze of tired and emotional outbursts, I can't recall the specific order of things. However, TB would not bow down to anything. He took the high road and made a video where he urged people to go get checked out as soon as they felt like something was wrong. Because of that, he likely saved many lives by being honest with people about colonoscopies. And I say that because there are people who are scared of doctors/hospitals/etc... Sometimes people need reminding even if they know what action should be taken.

Anyways, later that year, I had asked a friend if he could get me an autograph from Kevin "RotterdaM" van der Kooi – another Starcraft 2 caster that I enjoyed watching. Unfortunately, because of issues with his visa to the USA, Rotti didn't make it to the event so I wasn't able to get his autograph.

In between that event and the next, I discovered that TB would be at an event my friend would be attending. The friend felt bad about missing out on the previous autograph and said he'd make it up to me somehow. I asked if it was possible to get TB's autograph, knowing that it might be tough. I didn't want it to be anything epic and if anyone could get that for me, Temp0 would be the one. In my mind, I figured that given my living situation, I was unlikely to make it to an event that TB could attend before he passed. At the time, I didn't know that I'd be right...

Before writing this piece, I plotted out things I wanted to mention. The autograph event is among those moments. And weirdly, late in the evening of May 24th - after the news broke of TB's passing - Temp0 streamed. He made mention of asking TB for an autograph, for me.


Another thing that followed TB's diagnosis was an amazing post done on the Team Liquid website. It was a truly heartfelt post dedicated to TB where the community essentially said that we would be there for him, no matter what happened. Unfortunately, I cannot find this post again and it makes me sad... Anyways, from that point, TB made it a point to keep fighting because he was not going to let some stupid disease take him down. He fought for Starcraft, for gaming ethics and standards, and for honesty and transparency from game developers. He was going to fight cancer in the same way he always had. Because of those things, he was a legend for gamers, pioneering many into their chosen professions like itmejp and hundreds of others. In fact, I've read countless twitter posts about how TB pushed people to become better. I am one of them.

John,
I'm really going to miss you. It feels like you've been part of my life forever.
Thank you for supporting and cheering me on through so much. Thank you for pushing me to trust myself and be a stronger voice and thank you for being an incredible friend always.
Love,
Brooke

— Dodger (@dexbonus) May 24, 2018

His Best Anime Friendo

One of his best friends, Dodger, was helped by TB in a way that only viewers of the podcast and her stream would know. She had entered a relationship with Strippin fairly early on when the podcast became "Co-Optional". The two had large stream/YouTube followings before meeting, and knowing that neither of their successes superseded the others, decided to get involved.

Later, Strippin approached TB to get assistance on a major project. He wanted to propose to Dodger by way of making a video game that recounted special moments in their relationship. The amusing part about this story is that Dodger had put off going to Europe to see Strippin because of gaming commitments! The poor guy had to wait a full week before he was able to see her and get her to play the game which led to his proposal.

Last week Dodger had a baby girl and presumably TB was at least able to see the beautiful life that he helped bring into existence (in the sense that he helped orchestrate the marriage proposal. Don't get that twisted.)

Dodger gave us a couple of happy parent pics with Clarke so we thought we'd send a little update to everyone! Check it out! 😍😍😍https://t.co/4kit6LnRFi @dexbonus & @Strippin pic.twitter.com/gRXwAQ016m

— Dodger Coffee Co (@dodgercoffee) May 17, 2018

The Ending of My Viewer Story

TB was younger than me. That concept is terrifying.

From the year 2014 when he was first diagnosed with cancer, he defied the odds, made a difference in people's lives, and provided a solid foundation for his family to have a good quality of life. While I never met the man, I respected him and loved him for everything he did as a major gaming influencer. He touched the lives of thousands of people, whether directly or not, and he will live on in all of us. Hell, he's one of the main reasons I wanted to get into esports in a professional capacity.

Not everyone liked the man – he even had some extremely public outbursts to indicate such – but regardless, he pushed people to take a stand. He forced people to have an opinion, good or bad. He brought people together. That is what an influencer does; they force people to give a shit about something.

I was linked a post from the subreddit Writing Prompts. One person had an epic response that was very much in the spirit of TB. I'm simply going to link it. Enjoy that.

Baneling, if you ever read this, I want you to know that your father was an amazing person. And your mother is even better for being able to manage the chaos brought to her. So, if I could ever tell you a solid piece of advice, it would be don't believe everything people say about him. One day you will understand that 90% of the content spewed by media sites is utter crap. That said, this article, is straight from the heart. In future, I hope you find a calling that leaves a lasting legacy, regardless of what that might be.

Genna, you are a strong woman and have gone through some of the toughest situations, from running a Starcraft team to managing a family to dealing with internet trolls. Please keep that tough exterior. I know that there are jerks out there that will give you flack by association. Since you are a Bain, I know you will continue to be tough as nails and shouldn't let people bring you down. TB wouldn't want that. You have so many supporters that you can call on. Any time. I look forward to your future and hope that you will carry the torch. But before that, make sure you take all the time you need. I can also only hope that we'll still get an arbitrary awards at the end of the year because the gaming community still needs a champion.

I'll leave you all with this clip if you don't mind some profanity (in a good way). This is from JebroUnity's stream on May 24th, 2018.


I will miss you.

As much as it pains me to say this, until next time TB. (In case you didn't know, TB would always close out his content with that phrase.)

Article by Susan N.

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Jaggy's Corner! - Saturday March 31

All month Blizzard has been running the 20th Anniversary of Starcraft. Some familiar faces are present at a celebration event. People like Day9, Artosis, Whitera, Ret, TLO, and iNcontroL have been recalling Starcraft moments over the coarse of 20 years. This prompted me to talk about Starcraft and the impact it has had on my gaming career.

I wouldn't be a writer for Chalgyr's or Ginx Esports TV if it wasn't for Starcraft. Truly.

Many years ago, my brother and I would play both Warcraft 2 and Starcraft. I remember at the time I was terrible at Starcraft and decent at Warcraft. So, it made sense that I transitioned to World of Warcraft where my brother stuck with Starcraft, then BroodWars, then Starcraft 2. He would occasionally show me videos of Husky Starcraft casting replays of professional players' matches. I had no idea what was happening most of the time.

Then there was one video of Husky Starcrafts' that tipped me over the edge. I think it was not long after the video for Pylo the Pylon's short life span. It was at that point I stumbled onto Twitch TV for the first time. I landed in Demuslim's stream, a well known Terran player, who I appreciated because he was always humble while playing, but he explained what he was doing and why. For a person who had played some Starcraft but had sucked horribly, this was the best stream for me to end up in. The only drawback to his stream was the fact that I have always been a zerg player. Eventually, I had to find a streamer that could help me with specific builds.

What year is this? #SC20 pic.twitter.com/3F6gGWPL3F

— Chris Yap ᴮᵒᵒ (@booradl3y_) March 30, 2018

I found out about Fenner's Fundamentals and LowkoTV at about the same time. Both of these players had YouTube videos that helped new players with the basics of Starcraft builds. I ventured into Lowko's stream first and I became addicted to watching the streams for many hours each day. Six months later one of the mods decided to step down because he was getting back into Dota 2. Lowko asked his chat, "Who wants to be a mod?" I said nothing at the time. The chat blew up. In the end, he gave me mod status because I always chatted with people and was nice.

To make a long story short, that was the first of my many swords on Twitch. As such, I worked hard to learn about the bots, potential spammers, using IRCs, etc... I'm now at 40+ channels and it's still one of the fun things I do because I am always learning new things and meeting people. But nothing prepared me for a chance encounter that would ultimately change my life for the better...

Once in a while I channel hop. I get bored of the same game, so I actively seek out new games and new streamers. Often, I'll pick someone at random who doesn't have a ton of viewers, especially if it's 2am. Anyways, one of those choice encounters was hopping into Scheist's stream. On the first day I was there, he talked about needing a bot for his channel. Me being me asked what he wanted. After some discussion, he modded me. From there, he asked me in private what I wanted to do in life, which was to write for esports. He talked to a woman that ran her own esports website and that led to my getting the position.

Starcraft Memories

I remember a lot of fun things because of Starcraft. I remember clearly Eseipha and I getting Temp0 to say something to ToD in french. He did it flawlessly and we laughed our guts out when ToD said, "Do you know what you just said to me?"

I remember going to IEM in Toronto where everyone in the crowd yelled out "HOI HOI HOI" for a map called Catellena. The whole reason for that was because of BasetradeTV map intros... I'll just let you enjoy the intro if you've never seen it before...



Also at IEM Toronto a bunch of us went to an after party where Poizon and I played pool. Then I got owned by some Smash Bro Melee pros. Later still, a bunch of people played Cards Against Humanity.  It was a great night.

All in all, the Starcraft LAN events have been awesome.

I think the hardest memory of Starcraft for me was the day I wrote an article about the legendary JaeDong's retirement. #Imnotcrying #yourecrying. I have no idea if that article was as impactful as it was to write it. I know the editor could tell how important of a player Jaedong was to Starcraft. You can see that here

I could never truly explain how much I owe to the Starcraft community on its 20th anniversary, but needless to say, it led me to writing. I'm forever grateful for the impact this game and community has had on my life.

Of course, I'm not the only one who has been impacted as a result of this game. There are countless examples like Day9, HuK, LowkoTV, DJWheat, itmejp, and many many others. Here here is a preview video called Starcraft is Life – A 20th Anniversary Celebration



I'm excited to watch this when it launches

If you are a Starcraft fan, what have been some of your best memories? Let us know in the comments.

Until next time.

Article by Susan N.

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Diablo III - PC Review

Took me long enough to finish and prep my review for the following game - but here it is.  Also, sometime tomorrow I will be picking the winner for my Double Dragon: Neon PSN code giveaway.

In my mind, this was the most anxiously awaited PC game since Starcraft II came out.  Opinions formed on Diablo III often and early, ranging from the online connectivity to the style of the game's graphics.  Still, as we have seen in the past, great expectations can often lead to great disappointments.  We have seen that with other titles like Mass Effect 3, when many of its loyal fans felt let down by the ending, the multiplayer component or that it seemed more focused on action than tactical or roleplay elements.  The other side of the coin is something like Skyrim, that generally was well-received (though bugs - especially on the PlayStation 3, really hampered its release).  So how does Diablo III hold up?

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Back from the extended weekend - several games to touch on

First off - I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  Mine was spent in large part with my dad who is up visiting from Florida, but I still managed to get a lot of gaming in this week and some this weekend (with my son nabbing even more than I did I think).  Probably my happiest gaming announcement?  I beam Final Fantasy XIII-2 finally - and beat it thoroughly.  This is my first PlayStation 3 Platinum Trophy and I'm fairly close to level 11 on my PlayStation Network ID as well.  I enjoyed the game quite a bit - review coming soon.

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Diable III, Mario Kart 7 update for 3DS, Magic: The Gathering - Gaming thoughts...

Just a few quick blurbs this morning as I try to get through my week.  I may be a bit light on posting over the next few weeks.  I'll have a few things scheduled, but with Memorial Day coming up, my dad visiting from Florida, a family outing to an amusement park planned and of course - a couple of new games that I need to hunker down and review - I may be busy.  And by this time next week, I'll hopefully be playing a little game known as Diablo III.

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The Elder Scrolls Online - Gaming Thoughts...

I admit that sometimes I am amazed at how angry or worried gamers can get about release announcements.  The excitement I have come to expect, but the apprehension still surprises me at times.  Not that it should - games as media are far more interactive than music, movies or books.  As a result, our level of investment increases as well.  It is a major part of why we play these games - because we become immersed and feel we have a stake in the outcome.

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Dialbo III, Agarest War, Final Fantasy, Kid Icarus, RPG Maker... my weekend in gaming!

That's a pretty long subject line for this post, isn't it?  Well, I kept pretty busy this weekend in general.  I guess I'll start with the topic I've already conversed about a dozen times at work this morning, but there was a beta run of a little title called Diablo III.  Maybe you're heard of it?

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Gaming Thoughts... 9/15/11 - Word of Warcraft

So my last post got me all nostalgic as I thought back to some of my earlier Blizzard titles like Warcraft, Diablo and obviously StarCraft. I spent a lot of time on these games. But like many people, the Blizzard game I probably spent the most time on was World of Warcraft. In fact, I've been a player on two different occasions.

I did not play right when World of Warcraft began, but I was not terribly far behind. I spent a good deal of time playing Alliance and got a couple of characters to level 60, and even went ahead and did the same for some Horde on another server afterward. I was really big into it, had quite a few epics and eventually got tired of playing and just quit.

I was an awkward MMO player though, especially that first time around. I almost never grouped, at all. I hardly ever did raids of any kind, which meant I was missing tons of content. Sure, I'd go back and run lower level stuff when I was bored/high enough level to solo it, but I just never really wanted to group much.

Fast forward a couple of years or so, and several of my old real-life buddies I used to play D&D with are all playing World of Warcraft on the same server. They wanted me to start up again and went so far as to chip in and get me the expansions. I played (very) heavily once again, and shot multiple characters up through the ranks again. I was even more diligent this time, having all of the crafting professions completely covered, tons of really good gear and even ran instances now with my friends. It was certainly a lot more fun the second time around, but still not ideal.

On the one hand, I noticed I was sinking just an absolute ton of time into the game. I play video games very heavily, and even I had to admit my time spent was probably unhealthy. The other thing is I still tried to be a husband, parent, full-time employee and found myself distracted when trying to group. There's no pause button. If a kid gets sick or dinner boils over, I have to hop up and deal with it. Now, my friends were pretty understanding - they know me, know my family, but it still made grouping with other people pretty much a migraine for me.

Once I was at the top of the food chain yet again, all that was left was lots of grinding. The sense of exploration was gone and it was just more of a chore than fun - and steadily sapping away some money every month to boot. So, this account eventually went the way of my old one - given to someone else I knew.

Still, when I look back on it, I still enjoyed Wold of Warcraft a good deal. I'm a big fan of RPG games. I played more than my share of computerized/console titles and D&D over the years. I run a MUD with my wife, which I usually describe as online, text-based dungeons and dragons. It's easy to see the influence MUDs have had on the MMO community over the years. They were the first MMO's - just without graphics.

Unfortunately the Warcrafts of the world have had their own impact on MUDs, and it fewer and fewer people invest in MUDs than they used to. Our own game used to have 50+ players a night, and now on a good night we see maybe 10. I think if my wife had gotten into World of Warcraft, I'd still be playing it today. I love doing things with her - the MUD is an example of that, but she tried it and just never took to Warcraft - but at least she did try it.

Still, I have a lot of fun memories from my time spent there. I've tried looking at some of the free MMO's out there like Dungeons & Dragons and Lord of the Rings - and I once won a copy of Guildwars, and while there's good things about each of them, none of them ever captured my imagination quite the same way World of Warcraft did.

Any of you reading ever play a MUD, or a graphic MMO? Did you stick to it? Were you a loner or a grouper? Do you still play?

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StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty - PC Review

I have long been a big fan of Blizzard's games. I was absolutely hooked by the WarCraft titles, and I beat Diablo with every class. StarCraft was another title I spent a good deal of time on in college and like most people - a majority of that time was spent on the multiplayer mode.

The idea is still very much the same in this sequel. Three primary races battle with one another through a real time strategy game that balances landscapes, resource management and whether aggression or defense is the way to play. There is a campaign mode, online modes and in-game achievements to be had in StarCraft II.

Many, many (many) years later, StarCraft 2 comes out and with it a world of expectations that were so high, it seemed likely they could not be met. So, does Blizzard's legendary polish show through, or is this game one that proves not to be worth the wait?

Graphics - 9:

There's plenty of detail and the top settings are something to behold. That said, I've seen plenty of older machines run this game too, and while it doesn't look nearly as good on them, you still don't see much in the way of slowdown occurring. While the majority of your time will be spent on the field of battle, there are plenty of things to look at between levels too, and while the animations can be a bit stiff at times, overall the characters and news broadcasts are fun to watch. The movie cut scenes look awesome, and most Blizzard ones tend to do.

Sound & Music - 9:

And just like the broadcasts are fun to watch, they're even more entertaining to listen to. Music can come at you a few different ways. The jukebox is actually pretty cool between battles and the music during combat ranges from good to amazing depending on the scenario. Some of the voice soundbites you get from units when directing them can get repetitive - just like they could in the old game - but the actual voice acting for cut scenes and scripted sections of combat are well-done.

Gameplay - 9:

There is a lot to do here, but the basic premise works great. The strategy is varied from map to map, the multiplayer is well-balanced and it is easy to move around in menus and on the battlefield. There are some really good tutorials to be had, which helps newer players along and the way you earn new units and progress in the campaign mode is excellent for preparing you for the multiplayer.

One complaint - my video card (a fairly standard Nvidia one) apparently has a known bug with the training videos. I never crashed or anything - the rest of the game ran great, but the training videos are supposed to start on their own and I've seen plenty of other systems handle them fine, but my particular Nvidia card set apparently freezes them on the first frame and doesn't allow the videos to run. I contacted Blizzard's tech support, and the representative I got in touch with was very friendly, but not terribly knowledgeable. I made sure all of my drivers were up to date and included a dxdiag and nfo file upon first contacting them (I do software tech support, after all) and the first thing they suggested was that I update my drivers - even though I had clearly stated that I had in the original ticket and even linked to them on Nvidia's website.

The ticket bounced around for three days and then the agent said he found a post on the forums about my problem, where a moderator had said this was a known issue that would be fixed. The forum post was from April and as of a couple of weeks ago at the end of July, it still was not fixed. Not a huge deal in the end, I still enjoyed what I was doing, but it was a somewhat annoying little episode.

Intangibles - 9:

The campaign mode is not terribly long - I beat it in a couple of days, but there are quite a few achievements you can earn, and things you can do to unlock things like profile pictures for when you play online. There is also some replay value to be had here as you can make several choices along the way that affect the storyline in relatively superficial but still interesting ways. You can also upgrade units based on money and technology points found. It seems to me you would have to play at least twice to fully unlock all of the achievements associated with the technology options.

Add the various online modes (which I have not made much use of yet, but online isn't my primary interest in most games), custom content and achievements to the mix of the single player mode, and you have plenty to do.

Overall - 9:

The game was consistently excellent and there's enough content here to keep fans of competitive multiplayer and single player fans alike happy. I got this game for Easter from my wife and it took me a little while to get at it (silly game backlog), but once I started I couldn't put it down for days. My son, who is not much of a fan of strategy games loved this one as well. He doesn't usually play turn-based strategy at all, and neither of us could think of any RTS titles he had tried before, but he was suddenly interested in them after giving this title a try.

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