Thursday, February 19, 2009

Thing with the thing

Well it's been ahwhile since I posted anything here. Over two months in fact. Bah, sif not.

I have recently become interested in some of the more casual PvE elements of WotLK, considering PvP and arena are (arguably) rather fail at the moment. Although I do enjoy Wintergrasp and the occasional battleground, Rogues can get really frustrating after awhile. Especially the ones that intentionally target/hunt you down for the entire match (easymode pvp). While most people seem to be complaining about the new arch nemesi, the Death Knight, I don't really consider them to be a problem for warlocks seeing as how they counter.... well pretty much everyone who isn't a DK or Ret Pally anyway. No, I think Rogues are enough for me to be annoyed about in PvP for any given time (past or future). Maybe Arcane mages to a lesser extent. Not being able to do anything while getting killed results in the same disgust and irritation as fighting someone who is effectively pressing 2-3 buttons the entire time.

Below: WoW - Wintergrasp


What was I saying.... oh yeah PvE. I have never really been that interested in PvE, mainly due to my impatience and annoyance at lazy/incompetent players. WoW is an easy game, but if I am dotting and wanding and still pulling agro off the tank then there is a problem. Yes, there is always the argument as to why I don't join a guild and/or find good players to roll with but the fact is I don't care about the game enough (or my characters) to warrant the time sink that such an action will do. Also, I don't like being obligated or like not doing what I want to be doing (....?) .
In any case, I have found myself doing so many heroic dungeons as of yet that I have lost count altogether. 165 badges worth, if you can measure it like that. Friend of mine has also achieved lvl 80 DK status and tanked a H Nexus run (reasonably well, I might add). Naxxramas and Sarth shall be next, and who knows after that? I might even ACTUALLY quit this glorious abomination of a game and do something useful instead.

Below: WoW - Suicide is your only option


But enough of the usual WoW ranting (seriously, the game is designed for ranting imo). FEAR 2. Bought, played it, finished it. Had a couple of weird nightmares about it too. Yes, I found FEAR 2 to be genuinely disturbing. But in a weird, good sort of a way. Having finished the original just before playing the sequel (turret level pissed me off), it was interesting to see how much the franchise had advanced both graphically, narratively and ... scareatively (?). I was expecting the same elevator/ladder/crawling out of the shadows techniques of making you jump which I am generally immune to. However what I got was a much more in your face, haunting process as Alma chooses you to torment (with good reason though). The ending was almost exactly what I thought it should be like and was rather shocked when it came true. The bullet-time slomo action ability did make the game rather easy however, finishing it on Hard the first time through dying about 3 times (via enemy soldiers). I would recommend the game to anyone who is a fan of FPS action, suspense/horror games (not survival horror), traumatic movies (some respectable scenes) or anyone just looking for a decent shooter.

Below: FEAR 2 - Not a violent game, by any standards


My Quake Live beta invite also came through. Free game, web-client based. I'm sure I've mentioned it before. Anyways, after a frustrating wait with this connection I managed to download and play my ranking match against a well tuned AI opponent who is designed to kick-start your stats and give you a tier/ranking. I came out with 15 frags and 0 deaths with 35% accuracy and a 5min-something game time. I have no idea where that puts me, but I can't actually check as the next stage actually requires you to download the full Quake Live client which is impossible for me at this point. Nevertheless, I reckon I will probably be giving this a good go when net here is restored to normal.

Anyway, time to get ready for uni. Doing honours and possibly tutoring this year. My supervisor for both is awesome, so it should be good fun. Recently bought Dawn of War II and will possibly try out Call of Duty: World at War in the next coming weeks. Until then.