Hijinks Inc.

Category: Video Games

  • Blizzard Says No To Accountability, Yes To Anonymity

    The floor recognizes Mike Morhaime. Mr. Morhaime?

    Hello everyone,

    I’d like to take some time to speak with all of you regarding our desire to make the Blizzard forums a better place for players to discuss our games. We’ve been constantly monitoring the feedback you’ve given us, as well as internally discussing your concerns about the use of real names on our forums. As a result of those discussions, we’ve decided at this time that real names will not be required for posting on official Blizzard forums.

    It’s important to note that we still remain committed to improving our forums. Our efforts are driven 100% by the desire to find ways to make our community areas more welcoming for players and encourage more constructive conversations about our games. We will still move forward with new forum features such as conversation threading, the ability to rate posts up or down, improved search functionality, and more. However, when we launch the new StarCraft II forums that include these new features, you will be posting by your StarCraft II Battle.net character name + character code, not your real name. The upgraded World of Warcraft forums with these new features will launch close to the release of Cataclysm, and also will not require your real name. (more…)

  • 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…)

  • 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…)

  • We Have Clout

    You may recall a few weeks ago, our very own Frederick Smith wrote a review of Tower Madness HD, at the end of which he wrote this little letter to the developers:

    Dear Limbic Software,

    In your next update we at Hijinks kindly request you focus on fleshing out your multiplayer mode. It’s the best part about your game, and we really want another excuse to hurl insults at each other involving the pilfering and security of sheep. Add more abilities to hurt your opponent, like destroying a random tower, or sending a wave of stronger/faster aliens.
    Most of all, please look at your pricing structure. We’re big fans of capitalism and making the almighty dollar, but if you price your product at the the same level with games by studios with bigger budgets and names like Popcap, we’re afraid your hard work will get buried in the every increasing avalanche of iPad games coming out. Try $4.99. Seriously. Try it.

    Love,
    Hijinks Inc.

    I’ve underlined the important part of this letter. Why is this important? Because I’ve just been informed by Limbic that Tower Madness HD is now available for $4.99, yes, that just happened. Help convince Limbic this is the right price point and go download it, otherwise the price goes back up to $7.99 next week.

    [ iTunes Link for Tower Madness HD ]