wisdom

a class act

Evelyn Evelyn

True Dungeon!

Can't wait for GenCon!  True Dungeon has never dissappointed!  It has been awesome every year!  :)

Oh... the memories...

200th post!

So this is the big 2 0 0 and I am afraid I don't have much to post... but felt its been too long between real posts so obligation has dictated this meager attempt.  Work has been very busy the past month or so, and combine that with an incredibly awesome glut of good videogames recently...  not much free time.  I am way behind on getting models painted, and I have a very big adventure to write for later this month so the busy time will continue in and out of work.

Today is the two year anniversary of Gary Gygax's death.... hope everyone did something D&D-ish in his honor.

In case you haven't heard... A Game of Thrones... confirmed for a 10 episode run on HBO.  Should be on TV around this time next year.  Amazing news indeed.

I shall fill the rest of this post up with some lists..

Currently Reading:
Odd and the Frost Giants - by Neil Gaiman
Warmachine Prime MkII  - by Privateer Press


Recently Finished:
sadly...not much.

On Deck:
Princess of Landover - by Terry Brooks
D&D 4th Edition: Player's Handbook 3 - by WotC
Star Wars: Legacy - Dark Horse Comics

Currently Watching:
Legend of the Seeker: Season 2 - via Netflix on 360
Caprica -  via iTunes 
Robin Hood: Season 3 (BBC) - via DVD
Clone Wars: Season 2 - via iTunes
Spartacus - via Netflix on 360
Robot Chicken D&D vid-casts - via YouTube & WotC

Recently Finished:
Dollhouse: Season 2 - via iTunes

On Deck:
 Dr. Who: Season 5 - via ?

Currently Playing:
Dragon Age: Origins - 360
Street Fighter 4 - 360


Recently Finished:
Mass Effect 2 - 360
Bioshock 2 - 360

On Deck:
Final Fantasy 1 - iPod
Final Fantasy 2 - iPod
Final Fantasy 13 - 360
Bayonetta - 360 (Gamefly rental)

Currently Painting:
Pirates.. lots of em' - Warmachine
Shadowhorn Satyr - Hordes
Tharn Bloodweavers - Hordes

Recently finished:
.... nothing.  gah! nothing!

On Deck:
LOTS...Winterguard... more pirates... Retribution...

Currently Listening:
Inland Territory - Vienna Teng
This is the New Year - Ian Axel
Mass Effect/Mass Effect 2 OSTs - various
Against the Night - Jason Webley

On Deck:
Evelyn Evelyn - Evelyn Evelyn

well...  thats it for post 200...

new challengers

Holy crap.. LOTS of new characters!  :)

Sequels... a bit of a video game ramble

Lets talk about sequels... video-game sequels are pretty commonplace, and for a good reason.  First, they are safe for developers.  These games cost untold amounts of dollars to produce, so they want to spend it on a game they know is going to sell.  Its less risky.  Its also less risky for the consumer, since they are more likely to drop $60 on a game they know they will like, than one that is alien to them.  The only disadvantage is that with developers focusing their attention on sequels... we get fewer original and new IP's. 

That said, I just finished one sequel, and I am in the middle of another.  I finished Mass Effect 2 over the weekend and it was a brilliant game.  Better than its predecessor, and better than most games I have played in a long time.  A truly fantastic game... immediately after finishing it, I "rolled up" a new character and started again.  My second play through didn't get far due to the arrival of Bioshock 2.  Now here's a game that didn't need a sequel, but got one anyway (the developers would have been stupid to not capitalize on the first one's success).  So far it is a great game, I am not sure how it stacks up to the original just yet (need to play it more) but it is enjoyable... same great atmosphere and gameplay, with a couple new twists.  The thing that bugged me about it was that it was so similar to the first game.  But after 5 hours or so in I realized that that was a good thing, and I liked it more for that reason.  It felt like a more "in-tune" continuation of the story.

I got to thinking... maybe this is the best way to go about sequels... for example, take Halo 1-3.  Same basic style, and gameplay, but different story and setting.. all of which were enjoyable and fun.  then you have Halo:ODST, easily the best of the bunch, but not a true sequel.. same style and gameplay, but very different setting and characters form the other 3 Halo games.  More like an "off-shoot" than a sequel.  and Take Bioware (my fav. game developer of all).. they had Star Wars:KOTOR, Jade Empire, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Mass Effect 2...  for all intents and purposes, they are all the same game.  Same style of play, same story progression structure, combat is tweaked with each one, but mostly they are the same game just in different settings with different characters and stories.  And they are all brilliant.  A lot of game are being sold as trilogies, Mass Effect among them, which is cool.  You know that you get three games to tell a story, and then, (like ODST and the up-coming Halo:Reach) you can get some off-shoots set in the same world.  This is the way to go.. and I look forward to Mass Effect 3, Dragon Age 2, and subsequent off-shoots in their respective universes. (I really want Mass Effect 3...like now)

and of course we have the king of all sequels...  Final Fantasy!   and lucky number 13 comes out in a few weeks!  woohoo! (already got mine pre-ordered at Amazon)