Hijinks Inc.

Author: Fred Smith

  • Gamer Guilt: A WoW Player’s Guide to Gaming

    Next to my computer desk sits a pile of games and gaming systems. A veritable cornucopia of electronic entertainment. Of the two dozen or so games in the pile, I’ve played five or six at the most. Pile of shame indeed. Nestled in a database on a server farm somewhere near Irvine, California sits the reason these games and consoles lay neglected on my floor. A level 80 Blood Elf Paladin, a 80 Orc Warlock, and a laundry list of other characters. For those of you not MMO inclined, I’m talking about Blizzard’s 11.4 million strong cash machine: World of Warcraft.

    My situation isn’t unique. World of Warcraft’s domination of the gaming space has been the object of countless articles from many writers better qualified then I. What caught my interest is exactly why I choose to play WoW when I have so many great games just waiting to be enjoyed. What magical power does this game possess that continues to interest me after almost five years of playing it? And maybe even more importantly, how can the video game industry reach out to gamers like me and motivate me to buy their products? (more…)

  • Hijinks Reviews: Glyder 2 for iPad

    Publisher: Glu Media
    Platform: iPad
    Cost: $.99 (on sale)  [iTunes Link]
    Release date: April 1st, 2010
    Version Reviewed: 1.01

    I remember getting my Nintendo 64 back in the day and playing the 2 games I bought with it for hours on end. There was a snowboarding game whose name escapes me, and then there was Pilotwings 64. In Pilotwings you flew all manner of contraptions with the goal of ending up in the flashing circle at the end of the course. There was something soothing about gliding though the air on the hang glider, skimming across the surface of the landscape and performing gravity defying stunts whenever the fancy took me. I hadn’t even thought about Pioletwings for years until this past month when a new Pilotwings was announced for the Wii. Shortly after that announcement I played Glyder 2.  Heelooooo, dejavu. (more…)

  • So this is what video game nirvana feels like..

    On a side note, since I last wrote a post we have a new writer (welcome Ryan), and DAVE started posting again. If this isn’t a sign from God I need to start posting more, I don’t know what is.

    Last week I picked up a Nintendo Wii from eBay on the cheap. With the Xbox 360 I bought last year, and the Playstation 3 I purchased earlier this year, I now own all the current consoles. To put this achievement in perspective, I’m now the coolest guy my 15 year old self could have imagined I would ever be. There is certainly something to be said for being able to switch between playing the Wii, 360, and PS3 with the push of a button on my TV remote. I don’t even have to leave my couch. It offers a kind of fulfillment I don’t imagine my girlfriend will ever understand.

    The reality I’m choosing to ignore by buying all these things is the fact that between working 40-50 hours a week and trying to spend time with people in the RL, I’ll never have time to justify my purchase. My current solution is to sacrifice sleep to play. I wouldn’t call it a viable long term solution, but on the bright side, Final Fantasy XIII’s story almost makes sense at 3 o’clock in the morning. (more…)

  • Hijinks Reviews: Tower Madness HD

    Publisher: Limbic Software
    Platform: iPad
    Cost: $7.99 [iTunes Link]
    Release date: May 21st, 2010
    Version Reviewed: 1.4

    Have you ever played a tower defense game? Yes? Great! I don’t need to write that boring explanatory paragraph, and you don’t need to buy this game because you can already download a hundred more just like it for free, right? Too harsh?

    Tower Madness HD is exactly what you’d expect a close-to-launch tower defense game for the iPad to look and play like. You place towers on a grid by touching the screen and choosing your tower from a popup menu. You may wish to use the pinch gesture to zoom down from the default isometic perspective into a 3D point of view. The single player campaign has a good variety of maps. The tower designs are diverse, and they throw enough different enemies at you to keep you on your toes. Honestly, there is nothing inherently wrong with the game. I actually liked it. (more…)

  • Starcraft 2 For Dummies: The Big Five

    Starcraft 2Its been a little over 12 years since Blizzard introduced Starcraft to the world. Besides making them millions and subjugating a small country, Starcraft set the bar for near perfect balance in a strategy game. Over a decade later a Starcraft killer is finally here, and it’s in the final stages of beta. If you haven’t been playing Starcraft in that interim decade, or if you’ve never played at all, these posts are designed to put you back on a somewhat level playing field with the world of Starcraft junkies that HAVE been playing the whole time.

    Starcraft strategy is divided into two categories: macro and micro. Macro is concerned with your overall economy. This includes resource output, base building, unit building, and research. Micro is specific unit control. For example, focus firing key enemy units down, keeping your ranged units in the back and melee to the front, and using special abilities. For now, we’ll focus on macro. (more…)