Finally, Mounted Combat

So, as many of you have probably guessed, LOTRO is my personal favorite MMO, and I'm ecstatic that they have finally added mounted combat as a playable feature.  It has always been the one feature I felt would make the game complete, and I couldn't figure out why it wasn't in the game.  Turns out that was because they were saving it for the Riders of Rohan.

A Trip Back to Yesteryear

So, I picked up the Kirby's Dream Collection 25 anniversary boxed set the other day, mainly because it didn't include any of the games on the newer systems, and almost all of the games that made Kirby a classic.

Now, I wasn't initially wowed, but I was impressed with how well the tribute to the pink fluff ball was done.  The simple menu, the new challenge levels, they all seemed fresh and new.  No, what did wow me wasn't some much a wow, but that amazing trip back to childhood.  What got me was the old games.

Now, I'm a huge fan of advancing video games, and I've always been one of those people that goes out of his way to play something 'new', but picking up that wiimote and starting into the Kirby's adventure, so many fond memories of wasting time in my grandparent's spare bedroom trying to trounce King Dee-dee-dee and the weird vampire boss at the end that I never could figure out how fit into the story.

And the nostalgia only continued, along with a growing appreciation for how well the artwork was done on old systems.  Seeing the pixelated graphics of the nineties on my screen again, I wasn't put off by how old it seemed, I was actually sucked in to how amazing the details were for such primitive systems.

All in all, I loved the game, and would recommend it to anyone looking for an awesome platform-adventure throw back.  Enjoy, and remember.

Pre-release at Game Freaks

So, I'm here at local chain Game Freaks for midnight release for Borderlands 2.  The crowd for such a small town is rather impressive:

But as twelve o'clock roles around, what's more amazing is how quick the house emptied after the game was handed out.  Within seconds the crowd disappeared to get home and bust the game from its wrapper.  With the Borderlands fans eagerly awaiting this long hyped title, it looks like the wait was worth it.

Darksiders 2

So, we got insider info on the yet released Darksiders 2.  With new twists and turns that build on the story of the original, this game stands to be a classic.

We would love to tell you all the juicy details, but our test player couldn't stop drooling.  Apparently the game is so awesome it blew his mind.  The one small bit of detail we were able to extract before we lost him completely is that your character duel wields scythes, and there is an awesome armor creation system.

And sadly, that is all we've got on our insider scoop today.

Its that Time Again

So, its the week of E3 again, and the video game world is getting all worked up to see what new things are ready to be unleashed on the world.  All the major publishing houses and studios are eager to get the new year rolling.

I even got sent a link from Nintendo to view a Pre E3 video broadcast about the Wii U.  Seems they can't even wait till E3 to get their news out on the web.

So to all you video game fans, enjoy and anticipate, and lets hope that good things come, even if you can't wait.

Most Influential System

As I was sitting in the hospital watching my new baby boy sucking his fingers, I thought back to my childhood and all the things I hope my son will enjoy.  And as I thought about things like that, one thing kind of  struck like a bag full of bricks from above.  I was a Nintendo kid.

Now, in reality, I didn't spend every waking moment with a controller in my hand, nor did I have a desire to do so either.  But the character work of games started on the Nintendo systems of my youth had a profound effect on my view of the world.  I was constantly trying to 'build robots' for Megaman to fight out of junk in our backyard.  I had Mario bros toys, coloring books, and even underwear(in my defense, I was only six).  The legend of Zelda, Metroid, Contra, Castlevania, Pokemon, all of these amazing series led to a life long fascination with programming, electronics, and the human imagination.

So, as long as there is a Nintendo, I think I will always be a Nintendo man.  And I hope my son might find the same enjoyment and fulfillment as I did.

Everquest 2

Holy crap, I didn't realize this game was even still around!  Stumbled on to an ad for it today while diving the net, and for nostalgia's sake, had to download it and see how things are going.  I haven't finished with the install, but I had to post something.  This game really should have been dead almost a decade ago.

Disappointment

So I tried going on Steam and downloading the Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning demo and trying it out.  But I have to say, I'm horribly disappointed.  I can only get about ten minutes into the demo(the part where you get the bow) and the game crashes, without fail, every time.

Now, demos are supposed to be shiny tidbits of awesome that get you so hyped up about the game you go out and pre-order, and  then tell all of your friends about it so they do as well, hopefully propelling the game into the stratosphere in terms of sales numbers.  So busted demos are definitely a bad thing.

Having a demo that crashes drops confidence in a game, and let me tell you, my is dropped.  After sitting through all of the opening content twice, fighting the same three battles twice, only to have the demo crash, I'm not impressed.  And it isn't like I can just download a new copy, its through Steam, and from everything I've ever heard, Steam is supposed to keep things like botched downloads from happening.

All-in-all, I'm disappointed, and I'm not really excited to be buying a game at a price tag of $59.99 when I can't even expect the demo to work.  I think I'll be holding off on this one until I hear about through regular channels.

Good Bye Metal Gear

So, I've sort of been on a binge the last year playing anything and everything Metal Gear, and this new year isn't really shaping up to be anything different.  With one exception.

This year I'll probably finish off most of the games in the Metal Gear series (most of these on their upteenth time through), and I was looking forward to the next installment in franchise.  I stress was.  I am no longer looking forward to Metal Gear Solid: Rising.  Because that game no longer exists.

What we have now is Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, a stupid title that touts an even stupider game.  Now devoid of any storyline even remotely connected to Metal Gear, Revengeance seem nothing more to me than a few of the Solid series' characters put to an episode of Dragon Ball Z.

The trailer was so awefully over the top, it even has Raiden facing off against what looks like a new version of Metal Gear Ray.  He grabs one of rays fins with his bare hands and tosses it into the air like a rag doll and jumps on like he's riding a surf board.

Over all, they took what looked like a really awesome addition to the MGS storyline, and turned it into nothing more than a mindless slash fest.  Kojima Productions even promised it has none of the stealth elements that MGS fans love.