PAX 2012 | The Cataclysm Shifts The Mists of Pandaria Revealing The Pandaren

I haven’t played World of Warcraft in a long time, and when I did I found it hard to truly immersed. Blizzard was running the The Mists of Pandaria demo at the NVIDIA booth and what a good decision that was. When I saw and even play a bit of The Mists of Pandaria at PAX Prime I felt my resolution faltering.

The setting, story, characters, and attention to detail were adding up and combined with crisp colors, smooth movement, and delightful customization, The Mists of Pandaria was the in I had unknowingly been looking for.

This wasn’t the same world everyone had been frolicking in for years.

Via the Pandaren I could safely be the new kid without feeling like the new kid. Sure the Pandaria would still be populated by real world players who might be experts but The Mists of Pandaria starts the story at point A.

While other races have been tied to the Horde or Alliance for years, the Pandaren are Unaffiliated. I don’t have to choose a character based on what my friends play!

Shrouded in fog since the world was sundered more than ten thousand years ago, the ancient realm of Pandaria has remained unspoiled by war. Its lush forests and cloud-ringed mountains are home to a complex ecosystem of indigenous races and exotic creatures. It is the homeland of the enigmatic Pandaren, a race that celebrates life to the fullest even while under siege by an ancient menace.

The new continent reveals itself to a broken world just as the Alliance and Horde are spiraling ever closer to a war that will consume all of Azeroth. Will the mists of Pandaria part to reveal the world’s salvation? Or will the battle to control this rich and breathtaking new land push the two mighty factions over the brink of war and into total annihilation? The answers await within Pandaria’s mysterious shores!

SOURCE

If you think of the cinematic trailer as something like a story trailer than a game trailer then you won’t mind that the actual game looks rather cartoony in comparison.

Luckily, to complete the “storymode” you need to be a certain higher level (I forgot because I don’t completely understand the leveling system as I didn’t even last long enough to get a mount) to do it. I’m not willing to commit the time to get there just yet. Hopefully they’ll include The Mists of Pandaria in a novel!

However, if you are interested in rejoining or just making your way over to Pandaria, I say try The Mists of Pandaria.

If you’re unsure, leave us a comment with your thoughts about the addition of the unaffiliated Pandaren and the realm of Pandaria and we might be able to give you one of the beta keys we scored so you can try The Mists of Pandaria before the September 25, 2012 release date.

Review: Dawnguard | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

As the site’s resident The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim obsessive, it fell to me to play and review Dawnguard, the latest DLC. (It totally counts for our blog because in the storyline you are aiding or preventing a force that could ‘blot out the sun’, arguably an apocalyptic event. Sure, it’s a bit of a stretch, but you don’t get to judge me.)

For this review, I played thtough on the side of good. I usually do in computer games. In this case, I may use my secondary character to play through as evil later in the game. If I do, I will update this review with those experiences.

OK, so first things first, downloading it was quick. This is an important thing. The first thing I did was go make me some DragonBone weapons – I’ve been waiting for them and at 100 blacksmith I might as well. As I was wandering around Whiterun getting firewood for the arrows, a guard told me to join the Dawnguard near Riften, and that he was considering joining up himself. Not very subtle, Bethesda, but more so than the introduction of Knights of the Nine andThe Shivering Isles for Oblivion, so you are forgiven.  Me being me, despite spending 1600 MS points on this, I thought ‘no’ and carried on making DragonBone arrows. Because I’m contrary.

Dawnguard - image property of BethsoftAnyway, so I went ahead and started the plot. The first plot related area I saw was Dayspring canyon, and I was impressed – Skyrim offers beautiful surroundings and this was no different. While not drastically different to any other Skyrim areas so far, it was noticeably lovely to look at. The Vampires castle was equally impressive, and I love the difference between the Dawnguard fortifications and the Vampire fortifications – in completely different parts of the country, completely different buildings styles, colour, architecture – wonderful. It’s things like that that make this such a superior game. The new enemies are exciting too and the crossbow is fun to use.

I did notice, however, that downloading Dawnguard meant slower loading and saving times. It happens. My console has also frozen more frequently. This occured with the add-ons for Oblivion as well, so I’m thinking it’s probably an issue with the console.

Bad bits: Bits that should be fixed:

I think it’s a bit too easy to FIND the Dawnguard. Hear a guard talk, track them down. Perhaps there should be a slightly longer lead-in – perhaps you could be told to investigate, go to various settlements attacked by vampires etc. That’d be nice.

Bethesda games have always had oddish character reactions, but it seems especially strange that vampires can attack and kill members of a community, leave the dead bodies just lying there, and no-one really reacts – even the characters familes. I appreciate it would be hard to get the voice actors in to record new lines for every single eventuality, but an acknowledgement like ‘I’m so sad my sister is dead’ would be good.

Awesome bits (No plot spoilers!)

YOU CAN HAVE AN ARMOURED FROST TROLL HANGING ROUND WITH YOU.

Shooting dragons with arrows made out of bits of their dead mates.

Vampiric architecture.

GARGOYLES.

IT’S SKYRIM WITH VAMPIRES WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT.

However, overall Dawnguard is a great add-on for the game, and sure to be of interest to Skyrim fans.

As for what it taught me about the apocalypse? That it’s fairly easy to either prevent it or bring it about if you’re a destined hero with the soul of an immortal dragon. I’ll get on that right away.

[rating:10/10]

(If you want more info on Dawnguard you should check the Bethesda Blog or the Elder Scrolls Wiki)

 

OK EDIT: After a speed-run of the whole game (which took 12 hours) my opinion has NOT changed. GET IT GET IT GET IT.

Dead Island – Game of the Year Edition

Dead Island GOTYE X360Deep Silver must be proud of Dead Island. Why? Because they’re giving it a fully loaded Game of the Year Edition. Sure that doesn’t actually mean it’s won or even been nominated for anything but it’s nice to be recognized—even if it is by yourself.

Dead Island – Game of the Year Edition isn’t really, for recognition or even for Deep Silver, it’s for us. Well I own the game already. It’s for those of you who don’t already own Dead Island and weren’t really to ready to commit.

See in a Game of the Year Edition you often, including this time, get all the DLC that first round buyers paid extra for. Lucky you, loser me.

Patience is a virtue in many an apocalypse. So, if you didn’t run to the store and throw money at the clerks like you were stocking up for some lean times in your fall out shelter, you can sit back and get the game with the following perks (also, GOTY editions are usually cheaper than initial releases):

Dead Island has already grown a huge fan base, having sold way over 3 million copies worldwide. This new edition gives players who are yet to experience the mega hit Dead Island a version packed with content: including the “Bloodbath Arena” mode, the “Ryder White” story line and the weapon blueprint for “The Ripper”. This complete Dead Island package includes all the gripping extra content that was previously only available digitally.

“Ryder White”:
This story line offers a new unique perspective into the incidents in the main story of Dead Island: This time the player will get the chance to play as Ryder White, the antagonist of the main game; learn more about his motivations and why, from his point of view, he did what he had to do. This fresh take on the Dead Island story shows Ryder White both as a military man and a loving husband. The story stars Ryder White as a newly playable character and offers a single player campaign with several hours of story content with twists and turns that will shed new light on the happenings in the main game. Two blueprints and weapons will further expand the already impressive arsenal of Dead Island.

“Bloodbath Arena”:
In “Bloodbath Arena” four different arenas offer new challenges that can be played alone or in coop mode. It’s a desperate fight for survival where waves after waves of unrelenting zombies attack, one more gruesome than the next! In “Bloodbath Arena” characters can loot experience points and items and bring them over to the campaign mode. Players can show off their skills in zombie fighting with the newly implemented leaderboards.

Dead Island – Game of the Year Edition” will be released on June 26, 2012 in the USA and Canada and on July 06, 2012 in European countries for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows PC.

Source: Deep Silver press release – Tuesday 22nd May 2012

Dead Island – Game of the Year Edition

Dead Island GOTYE X360Deep Silver must be proud of Dead Island. Why? Because they’re giving it a fully loaded Game of the Year Edition. Sure that doesn’t actually mean it’s won or even been nominated for anything but it’s nice to be recognized—even if it is by yourself.

Dead Island – Game of the Year Edition isn’t really, for recognition or even for Deep Silver, it’s for us. Well I own the game already. It’s for those of you who don’t already own Dead Island and weren’t really to ready to commit.

See in a Game of the Year Edition you often, including this time, get all the DLC that first round buyers paid extra for. Lucky you, loser me.

Patience is a virtue in many an apocalypse. So, if you didn’t run to the store and throw money at the clerks like you were stocking up for some lean times in your fall out shelter, you can sit back and get the game with the following perks (also, GOTY editions are usually cheaper than initial releases):

Dead Island has already grown a huge fan base, having sold way over 3 million copies worldwide. This new edition gives players who are yet to experience the mega hit Dead Island a version packed with content: including the “Bloodbath Arena” mode, the “Ryder White” story line and the weapon blueprint for “The Ripper”. This complete Dead Island package includes all the gripping extra content that was previously only available digitally.

“Ryder White”:
This story line offers a new unique perspective into the incidents in the main story of Dead Island: This time the player will get the chance to play as Ryder White, the antagonist of the main game; learn more about his motivations and why, from his point of view, he did what he had to do. This fresh take on the Dead Island story shows Ryder White both as a military man and a loving husband. The story stars Ryder White as a newly playable character and offers a single player campaign with several hours of story content with twists and turns that will shed new light on the happenings in the main game. Two blueprints and weapons will further expand the already impressive arsenal of Dead Island.

“Bloodbath Arena”:
In “Bloodbath Arena” four different arenas offer new challenges that can be played alone or in coop mode. It’s a desperate fight for survival where waves after waves of unrelenting zombies attack, one more gruesome than the next! In “Bloodbath Arena” characters can loot experience points and items and bring them over to the campaign mode. Players can show off their skills in zombie fighting with the newly implemented leaderboards.

Dead Island – Game of the Year Edition” will be released on June 26, 2012 in the USA and Canada and on July 06, 2012 in European countries for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows PC.

Source: Deep Silver press release – Tuesday 22nd May 2012

A New Character is Voted Onto Dead Island

Dead Island, the playable beachy horror story set on the fictional island of  of Banoi just  announced a new playable character. This new character will be available in addition to the original four characters (who each have different classes from ranged combat to fisty brute)[1. Check out the official site for the full character profiles.]:

The new character isn’t profiled on the site because then there would be spoilers. Yup, This is a person you’ve encountered in the game before and his storyline should add a new perspective to why and how things on Banoi unfolded the way they did.

[wpspoiler name=”Deep Silver announced the character in a press release: ” ]This DLC offers a unique new perspective into the incidents in the main story of Dead Island: This time the player will get the chance to play as Ryder White, the antagonist of the main game; learn more about his motivations and why, from his point of view, he did what he had to do. This fresh take on the Dead Island story shows Ryder White both as a military man and a loving husband. The DLC stars Ryder White as a newly playable character and offers a single player campaign with several hours of story content with twists and turns that will shed new light on the game’s happenings. Two blueprints and weapons will further expand the already impressive arsenal of Dead Island. The DLC will be available on February 01, 2012 for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows PC. It will be available for 800 Microsoft points on Xbox LIVE Marketplace or for £7.99 on PSN and Steam. (source)[/wpspoiler]

NYCC: Deus Ex in Team Fortress 2 on Steam with “The Purity Fist” (Free DLC)

At New York Comic Con last weekend a representative of The Safety and Security Council was able to score some Free DLC for a crossover augment from Deus Ex: Human Revolution to Team Fortress 2. Continue reading “NYCC: Deus Ex in Team Fortress 2 on Steam with “The Purity Fist” (Free DLC)”

NYCC: Deus Ex in Team Fortress 2 on Steam with “The Purity Fist” (Free DLC)

At New York Comic Con last weekend a representative of The Safety and Security Council was able to score some Free DLC for a crossover augment from Deus Ex: Human Revolution to Team Fortress 2. Continue reading “NYCC: Deus Ex in Team Fortress 2 on Steam with “The Purity Fist” (Free DLC)”