Category: News

  • What Dave’s Playing: NCAA Football 11

    I threw in a quick “What I’m Playing” blurb at the end of my first post announcing my return to the blogging world. If any of you were paying attention you might have seen NCAA Football 11 at the bottom and thought to yourself, “Hey, wait a minute, that game isn’t even out yet! How is this idiot playing it now?” Well, to be truthful, I’m not. But I am very much looking forward to it.

    I don’t like to publish a review about a game until I’ve had a chance to really explore the game. Because of that, you won’t be getting a ton of “breaking news” type game reviews about the latest and greatest games. So you can expect a review of this game, but probably not for a week or 2 after it’s release, which is July 13, one week from today.

    They (and by they I mean EA Sports) have really packed in the awesomeness this year, so if you haven’t purchased this game in a few years, I would suggest you consider it this time around. Team specific entrances? This game’s got ’em. Numbers on the side of the helmet? Got ’em (although you might have been like me and didn’t realize we didn’t have those all along. Probably only Alabama fans saw that glaring weakness). Refs on the field? They’re back, and I didn’t know how much I missed them!

    I’ll cover a few more features after the jump. (more…)

  • Hijinks Reviews: Pocket Legends (Free Version)

    Publisher: Spacetime Studios, LLC
    Platform: iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch
    Cost: Free [iTunes Link]
    Release date: April 02, 2010
    Version Reviewed: 1.2.1

    Quick background on me. I started playing EverQuest in 2001. I switched to World of Warcraft in 2004 and have a couple 80s laying dormant right now. I’ve also played Lord of the Rings Online enough to get a max level character, and Eve Online enough to get bored ( 20 minutes). Now that I’ve established myself as a MMO junkie (or whore, in Aaron’s terms), lets begin.

    Pocket Legends is a 3D MMORPG for the iPad. Its not menu driven like everything else that calls itself an MMO on the app store, it is an honest-to-goodness massively multiplayer online role playing game. Spacetime Studios is now the Lord British of the iPad and iPhone MMO platform. If we had review scores, that would be plus five, right there. I could wax eloquent about the possibilities the game opens up for hours, but I think it’ll be better for all involved if I shut up and review the game as it stands.

    Pocket Legends is not a open world per say. There’s a hub zone (the ‘Towne’) Where all the players on the server can go and socialize (read: spam the chat channel with trade chat). The vendors are in this central hub, as well as a bank where you can stash your spare gear.  The actual fighting takes place in instanced levels that are part of a larger campaign scenario. The free version comes stock with the Forest Haven campaign, in which you rescue three orbs that protect your village from evil (but can be stolen by evil people at any time evidently). The free version is also capped at level 13.  If you want more, you have to pay for it. (more…)

  • Week In Review: June 27 – July 3

    Top 5 posts for the week:

    Peak number of RSS feed subscribers: 86

    Number of Facebook Fans: 21

    Busiest day: June 28th, with 751 unique visitors

    Top browser: Firefox with 29.37% market share.

    Top operating system: Windows with 62.33% market share.

  • 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…)