First of all I would like to apologize for the lack of posts recently. Everyone has been VERY busy. Gunnar (one of our wirters) and myself have been in the process of buying and building our own computers since our laptops seriously lack the gaming power. I myself, due to a handful of computer problems have been nearly had it impossible to play any computer games (lack of working USB ports, constant overheating, overall lack of power). I might however, put a poll in for our viewers (if we have any) to vote for some things. Taking this simple survey would really help our blog out a lot. Thats all I have to say for now but I will keep you posted on any news I gain.
"One of the amazing things about the Xbox LIVE experience is that it’s always getting better. The latest Xbox LIVE Update truly cranks it up a notch – with features that improve your entertainment experience and give you new ways to express your individuality and connect with friends. With this update, you can download full Xbox 360® games and play them without a disc, and you and your friends will be able to party watch movies online through Netflix! Dress up your avatar to impress with premium props and branded apparel from fashion labels. And this update allows every piece of game content on Marketplace to be rated, so add your personal ratings and see what others think is cool. But that’s just the beginning. Check out all of the new features of the Xbox LIVE Update below."
For more information go to: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/systemupdates/default.htm
Best muti-layer for the Xbox 360? Maybe. My favorite game of all-time? Oh yes. Call of Duty 4, was highly anticipated, and boy did it deliver. With an amazing campaign and near perfect multi-player, this game is one for the ages.
In the campaign you are two people; Soap McTavish of the SAS, and Sgt. Paul Jackson of the Marines. Most of the time you alternate levels as each story line unfolds. Then in one epic level, the story lines are brought together, one of the two characters dies, and the SAS and Marines join forces. The plot is terrorists are planning to nuke foriegn countries and you and you have to stop them. You truly see how evil the leader, Al-Asad, is when he has the current president (country is unknown, and you are looking through his eyes as the credits go on throughout the level) executed on worldwide television.
The multi-player was truly revolutional. With real guns, and a perk system like no other game made this an online legend. Over 10 MILLION playing online. The multi-player earned this game almost unanimous game of the year title from most magazines, websites, delovopers.
In the campaign you are two people; Soap McTavish of the SAS, and Sgt. Paul Jackson of the Marines. Most of the time you alternate levels as each story line unfolds. Then in one epic level, the story lines are brought together, one of the two characters dies, and the SAS and Marines join forces. The plot is terrorists are planning to nuke foriegn countries and you and you have to stop them. You truly see how evil the leader, Al-Asad, is when he has the current president (country is unknown, and you are looking through his eyes as the credits go on throughout the level) executed on worldwide television.
The multi-player was truly revolutional. With real guns, and a perk system like no other game made this an online legend. Over 10 MILLION playing online. The multi-player earned this game almost unanimous game of the year title from most magazines, websites, delovopers.
CONTROLS:
Controls are customizable, but most people don't change them. They work quite fine though.
8/10
GRAPHICS:
GRAPHICS:
The graphics are truly remarkable. The detail put in all the levels are amazing. The way the environment reacts to gun fires, explosions, everything. Everything is so crisp and clean.
10/10
Gameplay:
Gameplay:
Suberb. This game is 2 years old and it's barely left my Xbox. That speaks for itself. The only way you might not like this game or it's challenging is if you used to play Halo 3 alot. With about 15 different online game modes you can switch it up whenever.
Also here is a complete list of achievements for XBL users:
Also here is a complete list of achievements for XBL users:
- Make the Jump (20 points): Infiltrate a cargo ship.
- Earn a Winged Dagger (20 points): Complete 'F.N.G.'.
- Win the War (40 points): Complete the game on any difficulty.
- Dancing in the Dark (20 points): Kill the power.
- Save the Bacon (20 points): Protect 'War Pig', the Abrams tank.
- Death From Above (20 points): Operate an AC-130 gun ship.
- Wrong Number (20 points): Find Al-Asad's safehouse.
- Piggyback Ride (20 points): Carry Cpt. MacMillian to safety.
- Desperate Measures (20 points): Corner Zakhaev's Son.
- Look Sharp (20 points): Find 15 enemy intel items.
- Eyes and Ears (20 points): Find 30 enemy intel items.
- Down Boy Down (20 points): Survive a dog attack.
- New Squadron Record (20 points): Complete the cargo ship mockup in less than 20 seconds.
- Rescue Roycewicz (20 points): Save Pvt. Roycewicz on the stairs.
- Your Show Sucks (20 points): Destroy all the TVs showing Al-Asad's speech.
- Man of the People (10 points): Save the farmer.
- Straight Flush (20 points): Kill 5 enemies with one shot while in the AC-130 gunship.
- Ghillies In The Mist (20 points): Complete 'All Ghillied Up' without alerting any enemies.
- Mile High Club (20 points): Sky dive to safety on Veteran difficulty.
- No Rest for the Weary (10 points): Stab an injured crawling enemy.
- Deep and Hard (90 points): Complete the game on Hardened or Veteran difficulty.
- The Package (40 points): Complete 'Crew Expendable' on Veteran difficulty.
- The Rescue (40 points): Complete 'Blackout' on Veteran difficulty.
- The Search (40 points): Complete 'Charlie Don't Surf' on Veteran difficulty.
- The Bog (40 points): Complete 'The Bog' and 'War Pig' on Veteran difficulty.
- The Escape (40 points): Complete 'Hunted' and 'Death From Above' on Veteran difficulty.
- The First Horseman (40 points): Complete 'Shock and Awe' on Veteran difficulty.
- The Second Horseman (40 points): Complete 'Safehouse' on Veteran difficulty.
- The Shot (40 points): Complete 'All Ghillied Up' and 'One Shot, One Kill' on Veteran difficulty.
- The Third Horseman (40 points): Complete 'Heat' and 'The Sins of the Father' on Veteran difficulty.
- The Ultimatum (40 points): Complete 'Ultimatum', 'All In', and 'No Fighting in the War Room' on Veteran difficulty.
- The Fourth Horseman (40 points): Complete 'Game Over' on Veteran difficulty.
- Daredevil (10 points): Kill an enemy while blinded by a flashbang in the single player campaign.
- Roadkill (10 points): Kill 2 enemies by blowing up a car in the single player campaign.
- Bird on the Ground (20 points): Shoot down an enemy helicopter with an RPG in the single player campaign.
- Four of a Kind (20 points): Kill 4 enemies in a row with headshots in the single player campaign.
- Three of a Kind (10 points): Kill 3 enemies in a row with your knife in the single player campaign.
Okay well starting off in Atlantica can be a bit confusing. The party system is different from other games and you might find the auto-run feature to be useful. For those who are new to the game, there are some ways to earn some good exp.
1. LDP
Long Distance Parties will give you exp no matter where your allies may be. Just simple add them to party and you will gain exp 10x your lvl. For example at lvl 15, you will gain 150 exp.
Ask people in peers if you need a party.
2. Give gifts to beginners
This method requires some money and gives you a maximum of exp 100x ur lvl. The exp gained will be 20% of the amount you send. WARNING: Don't expect to gain massive exp by gifting a lot of money since there is a limit to how much exp you gain
3. Kill Bonus Mobs
You will gain double exp and a craft box.
4. Shadow Dungeons
These dungeons give much better loot than regular fields. You will often face multiple mobs so you need to short distance party.
This isn't really a guide. But to those who think you can make a lot of money with crafting, you cant. And those who think you can't make money with crafting, you can. Allow me to explain? Thanks....
At level 28 you can craft blood equips (weapons, armors). This i when you make money. I can craft 8 Blood Knight Axes for about 400k in materials. I then use guild craft (the cheapest way) to get them crafted. Basically, if you use guild craft, you say 600k-1m but you sacrifice a hefty amount of exp. If you use books however, you lose a decent chunk of money. However, my goal was never to craft super high level things, just make money. So I use guild craft and craft about 8 Axes at a time (I just like 8, 1m exp, and on the off chance i decide to enchant, I got an even number to end up with 1 axe).
For example, twice in the past 2 days I guild crafted 8 axes. Mats cost me 400k each time but both times, I ended up with +1 axes.
I sold those axes for 400k each within a few hours.
Here are some equations:
Quantity x Price = N
N - Price = Profit
8 x 400k = 3.2m
3.2m - 800k = 2.4m PROFIT! Plus crafting xp by doing almost nothing!
So in conclusion, yes you can make money crafting.
At level 28 you can craft blood equips (weapons, armors). This i when you make money. I can craft 8 Blood Knight Axes for about 400k in materials. I then use guild craft (the cheapest way) to get them crafted. Basically, if you use guild craft, you say 600k-1m but you sacrifice a hefty amount of exp. If you use books however, you lose a decent chunk of money. However, my goal was never to craft super high level things, just make money. So I use guild craft and craft about 8 Axes at a time (I just like 8, 1m exp, and on the off chance i decide to enchant, I got an even number to end up with 1 axe).
For example, twice in the past 2 days I guild crafted 8 axes. Mats cost me 400k each time but both times, I ended up with +1 axes.
I sold those axes for 400k each within a few hours.
Here are some equations:
Quantity x Price = N
N - Price = Profit
8 x 400k = 3.2m
3.2m - 800k = 2.4m PROFIT! Plus crafting xp by doing almost nothing!
So in conclusion, yes you can make money crafting.
Team Fortress 2 is a First Person Shooter for the PC made by Valve. It's the best first person shooter I've ever played.
Controls:
The controls are completely customizable, which is good if you have a problem with the default controls that they give you, but I was fine with them. They are very simple, WASD to move about, left click to shoot, and so on and so forth.
10/10
Graphics:
The graphics are extremely good, they resemble a Pixar movie (which is what they were going for). The only problem with them is that they are so good you need a top of the line graphics card to handle them, if you don't you'll have to play with all of the graphics settings on low, and you still might have a hard time. Because of this the grade I think TF2 deserves is:
8/10
The graphics are amazing, but they're too hard to handle if you don't have a good graphics card.
Gameplay:
The gameplay is awesome. At the beginning of each round you get to pick 1 of 9 characters to play as. There's The Scout, The Soldier, The Pyro, The Demoman, The Heavy, The Engineer, The Medic, The Sniper, and The Spy. They are all extremely fun to play, but you'll find that there's one character that you are especially good at, and you'll tend to play it a lot. However, the best way to beat the opposing team is to make sure that your team is well diversified. There are also achievements and unlockable weapons and hats in Team Fortress 2. When you die or complete an achievement you have a chance of unlocking something. When you die your chance of unlocking something isn't too high, but when you complete an achievement you have a pretty good chance of unlocking something. What you unlock normally depends on what character you play the most. If you play as The Spy a lot, you will most likely unlock something for The Spy. The hats are extremely rare, most people don't even have one of the nine hats. The more time you spend playing TF2, the faster you'll unlock stuff. There are 5 modes of gameplay, Capture the Flag, Capture Point, Arena, Territorial Control, and Payload. There are also a bunch of creative maps to play in. The gameplay is simply amazing.
10/10
Overall
TF2 is a very unique and highly addicting first person shooter. It's only $20, or for $30 you can get the Orange Box, which comes with Team Fortress 2, Half Life 2, and Portal.
9.5/10
I've found in my experience playing Atlantica, almost everyone is in need of money. I've made my fair share of money and collected tips from other players. I'm going to share some of them with you today!
Tip 1: Questing!
Some of you might be saying: "Ugh, questing, really?". YES!, YES YES YES! Not only do quests give great money, they give exp, items, and more! At around level 60 you will be getting at least 20k per quest and at level 70-ish you will be getting 50k per quest + rare items. There are certain quests like the level 50 Pearl Ring quest at the Taj Mahal that gives you a ring worth 5m-6m. Other great quests to do are Mercenary quests. Theses quests are typically very long and challenging but well worth it. Not only do you gain mercinaries for yourself, but they are redoable! That means in the about 6 hours of gameplay to finish them you can get a mercinary worth anywhere from 5m-15m! (I would reccomend the Beast Tamer and Exorcist quest).
Tip 2: Surveys
On the Ndoors website, they offer surveys that are very fast. Most are bugged but you can easilly get 100-300 points by the time your done with them. Buy boxes for a chance to get items valued at 10m to 1.5 BILLION (depending on what box you get)
Tip 3: Enchant Boxes (a bit risky)
Some Enchan boxes are cheaper then the actual stones (check your local servers prices). You can open them and sell the rocks at a higher price. Usually depending on your server you can at least make a +100% profit (twice the money you invested). The only problem is you have to constantly make sure your rocks are the cheapest ones on the market so they sell out before the prices decrease as prices in Atlantica can flucuate in a second.
Tip 4: PvP
PvP is great for money. The higher div you get the more money you make. I usually dont PvP but at Div 10 (aprox lvl 60-70) you can make a MAXIMUM of 2.4mil per 8 battles. Thats 2.4m in 1.5 hours. Multiply that my 8 (the number of times PvP is open) and thats 11.2 mil a DAY! Wow.
Tip 5: Book Boxes
You can buy Ancient Book boxes for around 50k-75k depending on your server. You can open them and get either sucky, moderate, or HOLY $#&%#& S#$T!!! rare books. You sometimes get books worth 2k and some books worth 5-15m (VERY rare). Usually you will never lose money if you buy at least 20-30 but it is recommended to buy 100-300. The only problem(s) are 2 things.
I. You have about 20-30 books to watch prices for (depending on how many you are selling). If the prices start going down drastically you can expect it to take days to sell a book.
II. Unless you have 1-2 alt characters to sell the books on, you are going to have an entire inventory of books until the ones you are selling actually sell.
And remember, some of these tactics are risks, so buy/resell at your own risk. If you plan ahead, you can almost always remove the risk of losing money.
Tip 1: Questing!
Some of you might be saying: "Ugh, questing, really?". YES!, YES YES YES! Not only do quests give great money, they give exp, items, and more! At around level 60 you will be getting at least 20k per quest and at level 70-ish you will be getting 50k per quest + rare items. There are certain quests like the level 50 Pearl Ring quest at the Taj Mahal that gives you a ring worth 5m-6m. Other great quests to do are Mercenary quests. Theses quests are typically very long and challenging but well worth it. Not only do you gain mercinaries for yourself, but they are redoable! That means in the about 6 hours of gameplay to finish them you can get a mercinary worth anywhere from 5m-15m! (I would reccomend the Beast Tamer and Exorcist quest).
Tip 2: Surveys
On the Ndoors website, they offer surveys that are very fast. Most are bugged but you can easilly get 100-300 points by the time your done with them. Buy boxes for a chance to get items valued at 10m to 1.5 BILLION (depending on what box you get)
Tip 3: Enchant Boxes (a bit risky)
Some Enchan boxes are cheaper then the actual stones (check your local servers prices). You can open them and sell the rocks at a higher price. Usually depending on your server you can at least make a +100% profit (twice the money you invested). The only problem is you have to constantly make sure your rocks are the cheapest ones on the market so they sell out before the prices decrease as prices in Atlantica can flucuate in a second.
Tip 4: PvP
PvP is great for money. The higher div you get the more money you make. I usually dont PvP but at Div 10 (aprox lvl 60-70) you can make a MAXIMUM of 2.4mil per 8 battles. Thats 2.4m in 1.5 hours. Multiply that my 8 (the number of times PvP is open) and thats 11.2 mil a DAY! Wow.
Tip 5: Book Boxes
You can buy Ancient Book boxes for around 50k-75k depending on your server. You can open them and get either sucky, moderate, or HOLY $#&%#& S#$T!!! rare books. You sometimes get books worth 2k and some books worth 5-15m (VERY rare). Usually you will never lose money if you buy at least 20-30 but it is recommended to buy 100-300. The only problem(s) are 2 things.
I. You have about 20-30 books to watch prices for (depending on how many you are selling). If the prices start going down drastically you can expect it to take days to sell a book.
II. Unless you have 1-2 alt characters to sell the books on, you are going to have an entire inventory of books until the ones you are selling actually sell.
And remember, some of these tactics are risks, so buy/resell at your own risk. If you plan ahead, you can almost always remove the risk of losing money.
Spike build is quite common with double monk formation these days. However double monk is not necessary. The term "spike" refers to causing massive damage to one target and sometimes two. Pirates are notorious for causing immense single target damage due the to skill called Blood Vengeance. Since they are B - rank mercernaries, getting one can be troublesome. There is no need to worry since there are many mercernaries that can spike.
Mercernaries that can spike include:
1. Swordsmen - This merc uses a sword/shield and does powerful damage with flame sword. I once faced a build with 3 swordsmen that killed my viking in 2 turns. They are very affordable and can tank exceptionally well.
2. Spearmen - These mercs are decent stunners and can do the same or if not more normal atk dmg than a swordsmen. However, flame sword is still stronger than a spear doing normal atk. Spears in pairs are most effective because they have a skill called Lightning Spear, which decreases the AP of the mercernaries inflicted. At lvl 80, spearmen are a deadly force to be recking with.
3. Lady Knight - One of the best tankers in the game. They are considered semi-spikers because they can use Light Slash. On average I see people with lady knights do 2k with lightslash which is decent dmg. Light Slash can also combo with Vortex (oracle's skill) to do more damage.
4. Janissary - Most powerful gunner. They have a skill called Shooting Stance, which allows the janissary to do powerful normal damage. I personally like janissaries because they have a shiny aura when shooting stance is activated (aesthetics mean a lot to me lol). Mercernaries that use guns combo frequently.
5. Archer - Archers arguably do the most normal single target damage. I am a bow main but I'm going to be objective here lol. They have high evasion and are annoying to deal with since they have Silence. Silence is useful for preventing enemy mercs from using magic. There is a div 1 player called SaraPhoenix that has 3 archers in her build (archer main/archer/prophet). She sniped down an inventor in 1-2 turns lol.
6. Prophet - Good spiker with a useful skill called Concentration. Single target damage is almost equivalent to that of an archer. Prophets are commonly used in melee-oriented builds.
7. Spartan - Powerful and universally used by all top players. They do more normal damage than spearmen and have more defense since they can equip shields as well. Unfortantely Spartans are too expensive. Getting one costs around 1b in Delphi and the warcry books cost around 3-5m each for begs. Upgrading requires a lot of money also.
8. Pirate - Saving the best for last, pirates are the best spikers. With dual swords, they cause a lot of damage with Toxic Sword. If that is not good enough, they can use Blood Vengeance, which can do around 5-6k on average. Just like spartans, they are not cheap.
[I] Pros of Spike
Spike allows you to have more confidence in winning the battle because each kill gives a substantial amount of points. The number of points determine the winner in free league/titan league. You will outnumber your opponent at times. At higher levels, spiking necessary to take down a mercernary.
[I] Cons of Spike
Spiking is risky because you have to determine which mercernary to take down first. At times, the mercernary will not do combos thus causing less damage. You can not stun your opponent that well. It is difficult to stun since you mainly hit 1-2 targets.
[III] How the have the best of both worlds
Even spike builds are not completely focused on spiking. The effective method is to have a hybrid. For example spike/stun and spike/aoe.
SaraPhoenix is notorious for her spiking/stalling because she has double monk formation
She is at the right by the way.
Alright for those who play Atlantica Online, the purpose of a monk can be quite confusing. A monk is present in almost every formation. Even the top players have a monk. There are some that do not use monks but the reasion is because they use scrolls to compensate. There are 4 skills that monks have.
1. Awakening
Sets the stun counter to 0 and also heals slightly.
2. Holy Gaurd
With this skill, your mercs will be immune to every magic skill. Heals the mercs slightly every turn.
3. Protect
The main character will receive bonus defense and will get healed every turn as long as the monk is not silenced/stunned/sealed/frozen.
4. Shield of Protection
Heals the main character whenever he or she is damaged by physical attacks.
-Okay so what is so great about these skills?
Well these skills are universally used that people often get 2 monks.
-Alright I have a monk now. What do i do?
Well you want to max shield of protection. Make awakening lvl 11 so the skill doesn't miss and put the rest of the points in holy gaurd.
-Hmm double monk formation interests me. What should i do for them?
For one monk, do the same thing answered in the previous question. On the other monk, you want to set protect to lvl 1 since the healing amount in lvl 1 and lvl 60 is negligible. Holy gaurd should be maxed and the rest to awakening.
-Okay any tips on double monk formation?
In pvp it is crucial to holy gaurd one of the monks since almost every one has a exorcist (mana seal). Do not place the monks on the same row since stun can penetrate holy gaurd.
-Uh I still dont like monk that much. How can i still compete without one?
This option requires a bit of money. You have to buy awakening scrolls which are cheap in some servers and expensive in others. Use the awakening scroll when ur mercs have a stun counter of 1 (when your mercs get attacked once). If the scroll is used with a stun counter of 2, the scroll may not be triggered.
Benfits of Single Monk
This build is average and only requires some scroll usage at higher divs. You have room for more mercs to damage.
Benefits of Double Monk
This build allows you to do double holy gaurd and double awakening. Scroll are not needed unless if the opponent is a massive stunner. Less room for mercs doing damage. The main character can tank no matter what level because of SoP and protect.
Benefits of no Monk
You have a lot of mercs that can cause damage. Massive scrolling is required.
[I] Introduction
As a div 9 player, I still see people in free league that do not know how to stun. The concept of stun is simpler than what most people think. Basically, in order to stun, you have to hit the opposing merc at least once for three turns in a row.
For example let O= your mercs and X=your opponent's mercs
OOO
OOO
OOO
-----
XXX-1
XXX
XXX
on the first turn u hit the viking thus making the stun counter =1
OOO
OOO
OOO-1
-----
XXX-1
XXX
XXX
your opponent attacks your viking on his turn to make the stun counter = 1
OOO
OOO
OOO
-----
XXX-2
XXX-1
XXX-1
now it is your turn and u shoot with a gunner causing the viking to have a stun counter of 2 and the mercs behind a stun counter of 1
OOO
OOO-1
OOO-2
-----
XXX-2
XXX-1
XXX-1
well your opponent has a spear and attacks your viking causing the stun counter to be 2 and the merc behind a stun counter of 1.
OOO
OOO-1
OOO-2
-----
XXX-3
XXX-1
XXX-1
now you see the viking looking down because it is tired so you decide to snipe it with an archer.
congrats now the viking is stunned in the process since the stun counter is 3.
However awakening sets the stun counter to 0, so you have to pay attention to each mercernary you hit.
[II] Benefits of Stun
When the opponent is stunned, he or she can not move. Every damage received is also doubled. Ap does not recover in a stunned state.
[III] How to prevent Stun
1. Awaken the monk at combo 1 - if you don't, you risk combo 2 + mana seal. Remember that your monk is your most importnat character, and if he gets stunned, the rest of your formation is prone to stun as well.
2. Don't waste AP - When your monk has an activation, make sure he's not doing anything stupid. If you attack with your monk, he loses 100 AP. That is AP that could have been spent awakening or Holy Guarding. Make sure it does not go to waste.
3. Use scrolls - especially when you get to higher divisions, scrolls can make a huge difference. Throwing up an awakening scroll is like casting awakening on all your mercs, which can come in handy if your monk is stunned/sealed.
2. Don't waste AP - When your monk has an activation, make sure he's not doing anything stupid. If you attack with your monk, he loses 100 AP. That is AP that could have been spent awakening or Holy Guarding. Make sure it does not go to waste.
3. Use scrolls - especially when you get to higher divisions, scrolls can make a huge difference. Throwing up an awakening scroll is like casting awakening on all your mercs, which can come in handy if your monk is stunned/sealed.
Overview
Tales of Vesperia is a Japanese RPG for the Xbox 360. The game's story is fun and enjoyable. Each character has their own personality. It's basically an anime that you control in a sense.
Graphics:
8/10
8/10
The graphics are simple cartoons, but they're easy to look at and very pleasing. They never get boring, that's for sure, but I don't think that the developers were using the Xbox 360's full potential.
Audio:
7.5/10
7.5/10
The voice acting is very good, but there are several key plot points Where there is no voice acting at all, and that frustrated me at times, However, the BGM (background music) is splendid. It can get a little repetitive at times, but it's still very good.
Gameplay:
9/10
9/10
The game is very fun to play. There is a lot of plot, you'll find that half the time you're listening to the characters speak, or reading their chat bubbles, but don't fret, the story is superb, it's full of twists and turns and it hooks you in quickly. You start off with the main character, Yuri, and then you eventually find people that join your troop. In combat you get to pick four people from your little Entourage to fight with. So you have a lot of choices on the customization of your team. Combat can also be multiplayer, which I personally reccommend doing with a friend or relative, it's much more fun. A downside to the combat is that the camera mainly focuses on Player 1, so you're friends will have to Get used to an awkward camera angle, but it's not all that hard to Get used to. In order to get into a battle in the first place you must run into a monster, or a monster must run into you. The monsters come after you as Soon as they see you by the way. During a battle you basically whack and slash, occasionally using a skill, that is if you're a melee character. There is also a mage, a healer, a bowman, and hybrids. Tales of Vesperia is a very unique game and I reccommend getting it if you like RPGs or even anime.
Overall rating:
8/10
8/10
This game was very fun and charming, but the developers could have done much more with it. It seems unfinished in a sense, but I had a great time playing Tales of Vesperia. I reccommend buying it and playing with some friends, it's a really great game.
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Review: Atlantica Online
Lately I have been playing Atlantica Online. Atlantica is an MMORPG with a very compelling plot and features turn based combat very similar to Final Fantasy or even Pokemon.
Controls
Controls are very simple. If you've ever played World of Warcraft or any other MMORPG, its the same basic thing. The setup is very WoW esque and some might say that without the combat, it is World of Warcraft. The only thing thats a bit buggy is the camera. Since 50% of the time your in cramped dungeons, the camera has a tendency to hide behind the wall, making your screen black. However, this isnt as big of an issue as one might think.
Grade: 8/10
Graphics
Graphics are good. Nothing incredible, but good. Its hard for me to really grade it because I've only played 3-4 3D MMO's. I like to play on low settings since it reduces lag so I guess I can't e much of a critic. Its getting to this point in day and age where a new game can only have such good visuals. The game does graphics nicely however.
Grade: 7.5/10
Audio
The music is decent. Each town has a set music, boss "rooms" have music, but other than that its the same music. 1 traveling/walking track and 1 battle track. The music although limited, his good and adds very nicely to the gameplay.
Grade: 7/10
Gameplay
Ahh, now the gameplay, or in other words, pretty much the summary of the game. There's a lot to talk about here so I'm just going to put it into short paragraphs.
First, the leveling system. The max level in the North Amercian version is 120 (although it was just recently increased to 130 in the Asian version). You do quests and fight monsters to increase the level of you and your mercinaries (who I'll talk about in the next paragraph). The leveling system is pretty balanced. It not like some MMO's where the difference between level 1 and 2 is like 75% more exp. Its pretty easy to level. I got my main character to level 66 in 10 days (how long I've beenplaying)
The next thing is the mercinaries. If you have ever played Final Fantasy you should know what I mean without even reading this, but for those of you who havent layed such games, allow me to explain. You start off with the basic mercinaries: Axe, spear, sword, gun, archer, and shamen (healer). Every 10 levels or so you unlock a series a quests you can do to unlock a new mercinary. For example, at level 44 you unlock the quests to unlock the Beast Tamer (an axe woman who rides on a tiger and can summon monsters to attack enemies). These quests however, are very long, which kind of make them worth it to get the mercs. Most will take about 4-6 hours of gameplay to finish them all. Although, as you unlock the extremely high level mercinaries (level 100+) the quests can take up to 24 hours of gameplay. Also, when you unlock the mercinaries, before you get them, they are in the form of the marble or casket which allows you to sell them for an added bonus.
Next, there are the quests, if you have ever played World of Warcraft the quests are EXACTLY the same. Usually there is a patern:
Talk to someone
Kill something
Talk to a few people
Get them an item
Kill something
Talk to people
Kill a boss
Repeat
They're not that creative but it still adds positivley to the gameplay. Also, one thing I have notices and I think is a GREAT addition is the kindness they force upon you. Nearing your level 30-60's a decent numer of quests are like "Give an item to a new player", or "answer a new players question". I think this is great as it almost forces people to be nice. I remember when I first started I had fond memories of recieving countless random gifts that definatly helped me out.
Lastly, the crafting system and the economy. Pretty much every item is attained from drops or crafting. The only problem is the economy. Equips are waaay to cheap and random items used for crafting are too expensive. There are no items you can craft and actually make money off of which kind of defeats the purpose of it.
Grade: 8.5/10
Overall
Lately I have been playing Atlantica Online. Atlantica is an MMORPG with a very compelling plot and features turn based combat very similar to Final Fantasy or even Pokemon.
Controls
Controls are very simple. If you've ever played World of Warcraft or any other MMORPG, its the same basic thing. The setup is very WoW esque and some might say that without the combat, it is World of Warcraft. The only thing thats a bit buggy is the camera. Since 50% of the time your in cramped dungeons, the camera has a tendency to hide behind the wall, making your screen black. However, this isnt as big of an issue as one might think.
Grade: 8/10
Graphics
Graphics are good. Nothing incredible, but good. Its hard for me to really grade it because I've only played 3-4 3D MMO's. I like to play on low settings since it reduces lag so I guess I can't e much of a critic. Its getting to this point in day and age where a new game can only have such good visuals. The game does graphics nicely however.
Grade: 7.5/10
Audio
The music is decent. Each town has a set music, boss "rooms" have music, but other than that its the same music. 1 traveling/walking track and 1 battle track. The music although limited, his good and adds very nicely to the gameplay.
Grade: 7/10
Gameplay
Ahh, now the gameplay, or in other words, pretty much the summary of the game. There's a lot to talk about here so I'm just going to put it into short paragraphs.
First, the leveling system. The max level in the North Amercian version is 120 (although it was just recently increased to 130 in the Asian version). You do quests and fight monsters to increase the level of you and your mercinaries (who I'll talk about in the next paragraph). The leveling system is pretty balanced. It not like some MMO's where the difference between level 1 and 2 is like 75% more exp. Its pretty easy to level. I got my main character to level 66 in 10 days (how long I've beenplaying)
The next thing is the mercinaries. If you have ever played Final Fantasy you should know what I mean without even reading this, but for those of you who havent layed such games, allow me to explain. You start off with the basic mercinaries: Axe, spear, sword, gun, archer, and shamen (healer). Every 10 levels or so you unlock a series a quests you can do to unlock a new mercinary. For example, at level 44 you unlock the quests to unlock the Beast Tamer (an axe woman who rides on a tiger and can summon monsters to attack enemies). These quests however, are very long, which kind of make them worth it to get the mercs. Most will take about 4-6 hours of gameplay to finish them all. Although, as you unlock the extremely high level mercinaries (level 100+) the quests can take up to 24 hours of gameplay. Also, when you unlock the mercinaries, before you get them, they are in the form of the marble or casket which allows you to sell them for an added bonus.
Next, there are the quests, if you have ever played World of Warcraft the quests are EXACTLY the same. Usually there is a patern:
Talk to someone
Kill something
Talk to a few people
Get them an item
Kill something
Talk to people
Kill a boss
Repeat
They're not that creative but it still adds positivley to the gameplay. Also, one thing I have notices and I think is a GREAT addition is the kindness they force upon you. Nearing your level 30-60's a decent numer of quests are like "Give an item to a new player", or "answer a new players question". I think this is great as it almost forces people to be nice. I remember when I first started I had fond memories of recieving countless random gifts that definatly helped me out.
Lastly, the crafting system and the economy. Pretty much every item is attained from drops or crafting. The only problem is the economy. Equips are waaay to cheap and random items used for crafting are too expensive. There are no items you can craft and actually make money off of which kind of defeats the purpose of it.
Grade: 8.5/10
Overall
Overall this game is really fun, the combat system is very fun and the inclusion of guilds makes multiplayer a great option. I would defiantly reccomend trying this game out. And ifya do, don't forget to put "Womp" as your referer and then send me a message so we can chat.
Overall Grade: 8/10
Overall Grade: 8/10
This is my review for Fable II. I am going to review it on the following:
First Impressions
Graphics
Audio
Gameplay
Overall
~~~~~~~~~~
First Impressions
When you first start, you are thrown into your life as child. You and your sister are trying to get enough money for a "magic box". Basically for the first hour of the game you just walk around doing quite honestly boring quests. The story is a bit compelling and draws you in so I guess that forgives it but quite frankly it just seemed like an unnecessary chapter in the game. It was decent though because since you were not thrown directly into combat, the game gave you some time to get used to the controls.
Grade: 6/10
~~~~~~~~~~~
Graphics
The graphics were sadly, one of the only great things about this game. They were absolutely stunning. The colors were very vibrant, and the environment was constantly updating with time of day which added a little flair. I don't know what else to say about the graphics, I'll post a couple of screenshots so you can get a basic idea.
Grade: 8.5/10
~~~~~~~~~~~
Audio
Usually a game has very unique audio (or at least new games). This game however, seemed sub-par. I music was decent, but it seemed like the developers just googled: "Adventure Music". It was good and not distracting, but it didn't seem to add to the gameplay.
6/10
~~~~~~~~~~~
Gameplay
I guess this is the main part of the review. The gameplay can be divided into a few different sub-catagories. First, the controls, the controls were very basic and easy to use, the camera was a bit buggy at times ut for the most part, it knew what you wanted to do. The game basically consists of you doing quests to unite three heroes, all while increasing the stats of your main character. This is where the game is flawed. The combat system was very, very unbalanced. Guns, your only form of range asically required no skill. There was no ammo and all you had to do was smack your little trigger happy fingers against the trigger on the controller and your enemy should fall down eventually. Melee is not far from the same. Its basically button mashing with very few combos that aren't even worth unlocking. And then there's magic. Magic basically consists of standing still, defenceless, charging your spell while the 30+ enemies run up to butt fuck you. However, you may think this makes magic useless right? WRONG! After charging your spell to max (about 10 seconds) you litterally obliterate anything and everything on your screen. This is including bosses which with a decent magic spell, can be slayn within 30 seconds. Having the ability to gain max magic before even half the game is over really makes it too easy and not as fun.
Lastly, on a sidenote, after you beat this game, there is very little replay value. You supposed to "go through and conquor the land" but quite frankly, the moment I beat it, I couldnt help myself from turning it off only to sell it to my friend for $20 the next day.
Grade: 6/10
~~~~~~~~~~~
Overall
Basically, this game is a decent game. I was let down a lot just because of all of the hype. Then again, not playing Fable 1 might have seperated me from the fanboys. Truth is, this game is decent. There are no ground breaking features. Currently you can get this game for about 30 bucks used. I think that's a decent price if you are nterested in this type of game.
Overall grade: 6.5/10
First Impressions
Graphics
Audio
Gameplay
Overall
~~~~~~~~~~
First Impressions
When you first start, you are thrown into your life as child. You and your sister are trying to get enough money for a "magic box". Basically for the first hour of the game you just walk around doing quite honestly boring quests. The story is a bit compelling and draws you in so I guess that forgives it but quite frankly it just seemed like an unnecessary chapter in the game. It was decent though because since you were not thrown directly into combat, the game gave you some time to get used to the controls.
Grade: 6/10
~~~~~~~~~~~
Graphics
The graphics were sadly, one of the only great things about this game. They were absolutely stunning. The colors were very vibrant, and the environment was constantly updating with time of day which added a little flair. I don't know what else to say about the graphics, I'll post a couple of screenshots so you can get a basic idea.
Grade: 8.5/10
~~~~~~~~~~~
Audio
Usually a game has very unique audio (or at least new games). This game however, seemed sub-par. I music was decent, but it seemed like the developers just googled: "Adventure Music". It was good and not distracting, but it didn't seem to add to the gameplay.
6/10
~~~~~~~~~~~
Gameplay
I guess this is the main part of the review. The gameplay can be divided into a few different sub-catagories. First, the controls, the controls were very basic and easy to use, the camera was a bit buggy at times ut for the most part, it knew what you wanted to do. The game basically consists of you doing quests to unite three heroes, all while increasing the stats of your main character. This is where the game is flawed. The combat system was very, very unbalanced. Guns, your only form of range asically required no skill. There was no ammo and all you had to do was smack your little trigger happy fingers against the trigger on the controller and your enemy should fall down eventually. Melee is not far from the same. Its basically button mashing with very few combos that aren't even worth unlocking. And then there's magic. Magic basically consists of standing still, defenceless, charging your spell while the 30+ enemies run up to butt fuck you. However, you may think this makes magic useless right? WRONG! After charging your spell to max (about 10 seconds) you litterally obliterate anything and everything on your screen. This is including bosses which with a decent magic spell, can be slayn within 30 seconds. Having the ability to gain max magic before even half the game is over really makes it too easy and not as fun.
Lastly, on a sidenote, after you beat this game, there is very little replay value. You supposed to "go through and conquor the land" but quite frankly, the moment I beat it, I couldnt help myself from turning it off only to sell it to my friend for $20 the next day.
Grade: 6/10
~~~~~~~~~~~
Overall
Basically, this game is a decent game. I was let down a lot just because of all of the hype. Then again, not playing Fable 1 might have seperated me from the fanboys. Truth is, this game is decent. There are no ground breaking features. Currently you can get this game for about 30 bucks used. I think that's a decent price if you are nterested in this type of game.
Overall grade: 6.5/10
Hello, my name is Dan. I am an average guy. I hang out with friends, I watch TV, I skateboard, but first and foremost I am a gamer. I love all games (well almost all). I play Racing games, shooters, RPG's, MMORPG's, Arcade games, and more! I am, and always have been a geek. I wear that title proud and throughout my newfound hobbie of blogging, you'll learn more about me and the games I play. I'm interested in all sorts of writing and I believe I have the ability to keep you all interested. I'm going to post everything from reviews, previews, and just how I spend my life. I know you're thinking: "Psh, I dont really care who this guy is.". I perfectly understand that, and that is why I am going to make this blog first and foremost an entertaining and informing. Anyway, enough of this rambling. I'm new to blogging but please, tell your friends about me, favorite this page, link it to another, ANYTHING! If you keep my blog alive, I'll make sure to keep it updated.
~ Dan
~ Dan
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