2014 - Page 5 of 8 - Alternate Image Gaming

Elder Scrolls

1-10: First Day Impressions

March 31, 2014

[read to the end for some tips on bugged quests]

The first day went mostly as one would expect. The downside of playing the beta is that the launch becomes a little bit less of a surprise. I created a Daggerfall Covenant Nightblade (as I had leveled most in beta). Of course, a large point of why I played in the beta was to identify what I’d like my “main” to be for the actual game, but it takes a little out of the new abilities. However, I was able to make a few different decisions regarding my talents and quest choices. Even as a Nightblade, which essentially the “rogue” character, I immediately went into archery in lieu of starting off with dual wielding and wasting skill points as I did in the beta. Once I hit level 14 or so, I’ll probably pick up another weapon and start using it a little to prepare for the weapon swap ability that comes at level 15. The swap skill also swaps all slotted skills so you can have two totally different builds for the different weapons.

The Good (more…)

Elder Scrolls

The State of Things

March 3, 2014

I’m not going to lie. My hopes for ESO are incredibly high. I love the MMO concept; the persistent, massive world; the social environment inside a game, but I’m running out of something to play. I’m a long time World of Warcraft player and it’s a great game, but… Oh, it’s such a but. The game is old. And I don’t just mean that the graphics engine is primarily 10 years old (which, honestly does get to me occasionally). The game is tired. It’s worn out. We’re on episode two hundred and whatever of Dragon Ball Z and while we keep getting new bosses it’s all the same. The interface and features are the best – there’s no arguing that. No other MMO out there matches the quality-of-game improvements that have happened over the years. But you can only polish the same gem so much. It’s still the same. This is where WoW finds itself, it’s the most polished MMO (excluding graphics) but it’s lacking something new to drive interest. So, what else to turn to? TERA looks great but the only unique part (live action combat) feels more gimmicky than a feature. The Secret World has basically the coolest premise out there, but the simple -fun- of game play is so much lower. A friend of mine described Knights of the Old Republic game play as exactly like WoW from 5 years ago. But look… on the horizon is a game that promises to exceed all of them. (more…)

Elder Scrolls

Distractions – ESO

March 1, 2014

So, I haven’t and probably won’t end up playing much WoW this weekend, because, well. Elder Scrolls Online beta!! Not only am I playing it a bit, but also trying to make some handy youtube videos. For your viewing pleasure (or displeasure, but you can view them regardless), here are some of ESO Beta footage I’ve recorded and posted.

Here’s a video on all the character customization options. WoW players take note of what (more…)

random

Why PVP Season 15 Makes Me Sad

February 19, 2014

There’s a few things about the recently announced and soon to start PVP season 15 that came with patch 5.4.7 that have got me a little bit down. The biggest thing, easily, is that it means we’re a long, long, ways away from the expansion. There’s an achievement for reaching 27,000 conquest during season 15, at normal arena cap, that’s 15 weeks or nearly 4 months starting next week. Prior to that announcement, my friends and guildies were hoping that Warlords would launch around the same time as Elder Scrolls Online. We expected Blizzard to plan that to crush the upcoming game (as they tend to do, not that I wanted it), but apparently not. So, I mean, the disappointment is my own fault, not like it was announced, but it doesn’t make it any less.

The next part and (more…)

random Screen Shots

Screen Shot of the Week: Line Up War Wolves!

February 17, 2014

A friend of mine noticed a couple of players on their Kor’kron War Wolves standing in a line and joined in. A short while later, a few more joined. It’s fun to see spontaneous organization. Click after the break for a bonus picture (different view and no caption).

(more…)

Hearthstone

Hearthstone Impressions

February 16, 2014

I’ve played a little bit of Hearthstone now and I want to drop a little feedback. Keep in mind, it’s still in beta, but it plays like a pretty complete game. For that, I’d say they’re doing a good job with it so far. It’s fun, but it’s far too simple. I have a decent win/loss ratio (I think) but games are nearly always one sided. Either I wreck them or they wreck me – it’s hard to be much fun on either side of that. This is because of the simplicity. Bad draw early on can create a deficit that can never be recovered from. However, it’s the lack of countering that is my real complaint. I played a game where on turn 3 or 4, the opponent played a card to “steal” one of mine, used that to kill my taunt creature and (clearing my side of the board) and dealt 10 damage. Prior to that turn we were equal with full health but I had 2 strong(ish) cards in play and he had one weak one. At the end of the turn I’m down 1/3 of my health and he had 5 minions to my 0. No way to stop it. No way to counter. What I’d love to see is a Magic the Gathering style counter spell mechanic. The ability to cast certain types of spells during the opponents turn would be such a huge improvement. It would at a little complexity. Do I save this burn spell to see what my opponent does or use it now? I’ve seen many games where either side could have stopped a loss by simply being able to stop one spell or one minion during a key fight. It just needs a little more. (more…)

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