In the UK, at least, there's a big fuss about video game addictions which has come from the release of the latest Call of Duty game (Well, not so much) and the latest World of Warcraft expansion pack, Cataclysm (No, I don't want it. But I do. Yes. NO!). Recently, the BBC did a documentary on video game addictions, and I have to say I don't fully agree with a lot of what they said. What I've got from it is that Blizzard are a great evil and created World of Warcraft to disrupt the world or something. In my opinion, a game isn't addictive in itself. It's the person and the situation that causes the addiction. I think MMOs are some of the worst culprits for it, especially with the reward mechanics they have and the social features, but they're not the great evil they seem to be portrayed as. Many games (And consoles) have parental features that can be used to dissuade this behaviour, but for a lot of addicted younger people the parents do nothing to stop it until it's too late.
I'll confess that I fell prey to World of Warcraft, and if I hadn't been bored so quickly with them, I'd probably have fallen prey to Lord of the Rings: Online and EverQuest 2. My mum, and dad, did nothing to stop me playing the game even though it was all I did. I don't know if they'd worked out I was addicted and didn't know how to stop me, or if they just hadn't worked it out for themselves. Luckily, I managed to save myself indirectly (I won't go into it, though) and I've been free since the start of 2010 (Bar two lapses that lasted days at most). My sleep cycle had been ruined, I was constantly thinking about the game, I missed classes to play it and it honestly was a case of wake up, play WoW, go to bed, wake up, play WoW and so forth. I asked my parents a number of times for time cards to play it and I wouldn't be surprised if I'd gone into my overdraft to pay for it. Yes, a year later I still think about it, but I can't (And won't) let myself get back into it in case it happens all over again.
To play an MMO, or online multiplayer game, I think you seriously need to have a good level of self control, but you also need to have someone looking out for you. If you don't have self control, then you run the risk of letting it damage your life unless someone steps in and takes control for you. I was lucky enough to be able to get myself out of it. Others have been lucky in that family and friends have pulled them out of it, but some don't have that at all. Maybe the developers (And those who run internet cafés) should put some measures in place to dissuade you playing all day. Cap the experience you can achieve, cap the amount of gold you can earn. Something, though, because some people cannot control themselves and can seriously damage their lives. I think there's too many factors for one company to be at fault, however. Why do the café owners not limit the time you can spend there? They might lose a bit of money but they won't have deaths or ruined lives staining their image.
I don't blame Blizzard for what happened; That would be selfish and stupid. They didn't create my problems, I did. WoW filled a gap that I had, that was it. I could have been addicted to Sony's EverQuest 2 or another MMO. Blame is an easy thing to throw around. Guy from the BBC documentary? Blizzard aren't at fault for you losing touch with the world. It's just the catalyst.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Dwagginz Plays... Puzzle Quest 2 (PC, Steam)
I have the original Puzzle Quest, but I'll admit I'm not great at it. I've never gotten that far in it, and all attempts to do so end up with me getting bored or fed up. I tried the later Puzzle Kingdoms, and I think I spent about two minutes on it before giving up and closing it. Later I heard Puzzle Quest 2 was on the way, and I was quite excited about it. And today I finally got it. I've put about an hour or so into it, and these are my thoughts so far.
The basic puzzle mechanics are the same; chain up three or more of the gems (4 giving you an extra turn, 5 spawning a wildcard and an extra turn) and use your abilities (Used by spending a certain amount of gems you've collected) to reduce the opponent's life force to zero. Basically, it's a cross between a fairly "lite" RPG and Bejeweled. What's different in this one is the addition of a "fist" gem (Which I believe increases weapon skill, could be wrong) and the ability to use said weapons. They function just like an attack, and (where I am currently) do comparable damage.
I wasn't impressed with the characters you can have, though. There's four classes (Assassin, Barbarian, Sorcerer, Templar) and two genders, but only one portrait per class, which is a shame as Puzzle Quest had about 2-3 per gender per class, perhaps more. The avatar you have in-game also feels slightly odd. I chose the Barbarian and her model (Whilst when you saw it from the front) looked female, it seemed as if they'd just reskinned the masculine counterpart.
It's arguably more enjoyable than Puzzle Quest. It seems to have capitalised more on its RPG features and instead of going from a vague location to a vague location (i.e. castle to tower), you go across various grids. I believe the first town is about a 3x3 square, and (at the point I'm at) it turns into a dungeon crawler with the same number of grids. The enemies are static, but it's often not possible to proceed without defeating at least one. The ones that tend to be optional seem to be located near chests which contain resources (to upgrade your weapons/gear) so it's often worth your time to clear them.
It just seems to be puzzle after puzzle after puzzle. I killed a horde of rats, then went to the next room and killed a Goblin, then I had to do the chest puzzle (to get some loot) followed by the door puzzle to bash it down. All puzzles rotate around the same theme - matching gems. It would have been nice if they'd added some variety to the puzzles instead of just them all being basically the same.
Going back to the combat, two things annoyed me about it. Firstly, it seems unbalanced at times. I killed a few goblins with no issue, killed the troll, went into the only available area and it took 4-5 goes to kill some rats. The difficulty randomly spiked for no reason, and it went back to "normal" after that fight. Secondly, weapon attacks cut away from the screen and display a "splash screen" (Can't think of a better term) which states what attack it was, how much damage it did, and a nice big image to get across what it was. That annoyed me a little as it felt unnecessary and it breaks the flow of combat, and surely a less distracting (but still unique) way to show weapon damage would have been possible?
Well, all I can do is carry on. So far I'm not annoyed I spent £8 on this.
The basic puzzle mechanics are the same; chain up three or more of the gems (4 giving you an extra turn, 5 spawning a wildcard and an extra turn) and use your abilities (Used by spending a certain amount of gems you've collected) to reduce the opponent's life force to zero. Basically, it's a cross between a fairly "lite" RPG and Bejeweled. What's different in this one is the addition of a "fist" gem (Which I believe increases weapon skill, could be wrong) and the ability to use said weapons. They function just like an attack, and (where I am currently) do comparable damage.
I wasn't impressed with the characters you can have, though. There's four classes (Assassin, Barbarian, Sorcerer, Templar) and two genders, but only one portrait per class, which is a shame as Puzzle Quest had about 2-3 per gender per class, perhaps more. The avatar you have in-game also feels slightly odd. I chose the Barbarian and her model (Whilst when you saw it from the front) looked female, it seemed as if they'd just reskinned the masculine counterpart.
It's arguably more enjoyable than Puzzle Quest. It seems to have capitalised more on its RPG features and instead of going from a vague location to a vague location (i.e. castle to tower), you go across various grids. I believe the first town is about a 3x3 square, and (at the point I'm at) it turns into a dungeon crawler with the same number of grids. The enemies are static, but it's often not possible to proceed without defeating at least one. The ones that tend to be optional seem to be located near chests which contain resources (to upgrade your weapons/gear) so it's often worth your time to clear them.
It just seems to be puzzle after puzzle after puzzle. I killed a horde of rats, then went to the next room and killed a Goblin, then I had to do the chest puzzle (to get some loot) followed by the door puzzle to bash it down. All puzzles rotate around the same theme - matching gems. It would have been nice if they'd added some variety to the puzzles instead of just them all being basically the same.
Going back to the combat, two things annoyed me about it. Firstly, it seems unbalanced at times. I killed a few goblins with no issue, killed the troll, went into the only available area and it took 4-5 goes to kill some rats. The difficulty randomly spiked for no reason, and it went back to "normal" after that fight. Secondly, weapon attacks cut away from the screen and display a "splash screen" (Can't think of a better term) which states what attack it was, how much damage it did, and a nice big image to get across what it was. That annoyed me a little as it felt unnecessary and it breaks the flow of combat, and surely a less distracting (but still unique) way to show weapon damage would have been possible?
Well, all I can do is carry on. So far I'm not annoyed I spent £8 on this.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
A Break From Tradition - Phone Calls
Bit of a thoughtful post today under the title "A Break From Tradition".
We had a phone call today, and as usual I didn't answer it as it's often a cold caller or an advertising firm (Perhaps they're one and the same), and it caused me to think about how people react to these calls and treat the person on the other end of the line, and the large amount of hypocrisy often present in these rants or attitudes.
At the end of the day, the person on the other end of the line is no different from you or me. They're there to do a job, to earn a living and to get through life. They're doing what they're told to by their superiors, and you can't fault them for that. Yes, I'll agree that ringing your house after around 7-8pm is perhaps rude, but I don't think it gives anyone a right to spout such venom at the poor person on the other end.
I'll use my mum as a great example of what I mean. She comes home from work and sometimes rants about rude customers she's had, how they treat her rudely and so forth. And yet when the phone rings and it's someone doing their job, she's rude to them. How is that an appropriate way to behave? The person on the other end of the line has probably been treated like that all day, perhaps all week. They're polite to you (Well, as polite as one can be in that job) and I would say that you should be polite back to them. They're human beings after all!
I had a job that wasn't too different in nature. I was on what's called "front cover" for part of a job, and the point of that task is to approach customers who've walked into the store and ask them to sign up to something (Usually a catalogue). You get *so* many people being rude to you that it's really morale destroying. "No, I don't speak English" is a common one. Rarely a "No, thank you" or a pitying glance, just "No" or something equally blunt and rude. You quickly begin to give up hope with it because it's just this barrage of rudeness, people not being courteous and negativity.
I'm not going to pretend to be some moral arbiter who tells you how to live your life, nor how to behave. I'm not doing this post for any particular reason. I just think that a bit of courtesy is required. Imagine you're the person on the other end of the line. Would you like to be treated like you just treated them? No, I would guess not.
We had a phone call today, and as usual I didn't answer it as it's often a cold caller or an advertising firm (Perhaps they're one and the same), and it caused me to think about how people react to these calls and treat the person on the other end of the line, and the large amount of hypocrisy often present in these rants or attitudes.
At the end of the day, the person on the other end of the line is no different from you or me. They're there to do a job, to earn a living and to get through life. They're doing what they're told to by their superiors, and you can't fault them for that. Yes, I'll agree that ringing your house after around 7-8pm is perhaps rude, but I don't think it gives anyone a right to spout such venom at the poor person on the other end.
I'll use my mum as a great example of what I mean. She comes home from work and sometimes rants about rude customers she's had, how they treat her rudely and so forth. And yet when the phone rings and it's someone doing their job, she's rude to them. How is that an appropriate way to behave? The person on the other end of the line has probably been treated like that all day, perhaps all week. They're polite to you (Well, as polite as one can be in that job) and I would say that you should be polite back to them. They're human beings after all!
I had a job that wasn't too different in nature. I was on what's called "front cover" for part of a job, and the point of that task is to approach customers who've walked into the store and ask them to sign up to something (Usually a catalogue). You get *so* many people being rude to you that it's really morale destroying. "No, I don't speak English" is a common one. Rarely a "No, thank you" or a pitying glance, just "No" or something equally blunt and rude. You quickly begin to give up hope with it because it's just this barrage of rudeness, people not being courteous and negativity.
I'm not going to pretend to be some moral arbiter who tells you how to live your life, nor how to behave. I'm not doing this post for any particular reason. I just think that a bit of courtesy is required. Imagine you're the person on the other end of the line. Would you like to be treated like you just treated them? No, I would guess not.
Oh dear, oh dear...
Yes... I finally gave in and signed up for that I'm-A-Twit lark. I'll probably be chirping once every blue moon about pointless stuff.
P.S. Buy The Book of Transformations by Mark C. Newton when it comes out. That's an order.
P.P.S. I really need GTA IV: Episodes from Liberty City. Need more beeg American tee-tees.
P.S. Buy The Book of Transformations by Mark C. Newton when it comes out. That's an order.
P.P.S. I really need GTA IV: Episodes from Liberty City. Need more beeg American tee-tees.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Dwagginz Plays... Dwagginz Plays - Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures (Part 2)
I've been a bit quiet recently, partially out of apathy for the game and partially because I've been playing other things like Star Wars: Battlefront II and Grand Theft Auto IV. But I haven't completely given up with it. So, Dwagginz, what have you done up until now?
Well, I gave in and got a one month membership...
Firstly, I was wrong. It's £3.99 for a month, which sort of changes my perspective on membership. It's a lot for not a lot. You unlock more costumes (And they're adding more) and things, but nothing ever feels like it's [i]worth it[/i].
The Tower Defence game (Republic Defender, I believe) really ramps up in difficulty once you get to the member stages. I suspect it's aimed more at the older players, but I'll admit I really began to struggle with it. You don't get a lot of time on the Daily Trivia quiz (Members Only!) to answer the questions, with the end of the question's audio being close to the end of your allotted time. If you factor in the bugs and so forth, CWA is quite a challenging game for the market it's aimed at.
Overall, I think Clone Wars Adventures is a mixed bag. The games seem a bit too difficult, and whilst it may encourage parents to join in, I think both child and adult will find themselves frustrated within a short timespan. All there is to do, beyond running around and exploring a handful of areas (With nothing to find, I might add) is play the mini-games. You can try to socialise if you like, but I'm not sure I could recommend it. I never used the chat system but if it's like FR's then it'll be very crippled and restrictive.
My honest opinion, at this moment, is to wait for more content to be added. More items to buy, more customisation options, more levels and so on. With games like Free Realms around which are arguably more accessible to younger players and which have a higher content level for free players, I think CWA pales in comparison. Yeah, it's a bit fun, but that's it. Free Realms, in my opinion, is much more deserving of your time and (If you so choose, money).
Will I continue with this game? Perhaps. Will I do so as paid? Not unless SOE give me a reason to.
Well, I gave in and got a one month membership...
Firstly, I was wrong. It's £3.99 for a month, which sort of changes my perspective on membership. It's a lot for not a lot. You unlock more costumes (And they're adding more) and things, but nothing ever feels like it's [i]worth it[/i].
The Tower Defence game (Republic Defender, I believe) really ramps up in difficulty once you get to the member stages. I suspect it's aimed more at the older players, but I'll admit I really began to struggle with it. You don't get a lot of time on the Daily Trivia quiz (Members Only!) to answer the questions, with the end of the question's audio being close to the end of your allotted time. If you factor in the bugs and so forth, CWA is quite a challenging game for the market it's aimed at.
Overall, I think Clone Wars Adventures is a mixed bag. The games seem a bit too difficult, and whilst it may encourage parents to join in, I think both child and adult will find themselves frustrated within a short timespan. All there is to do, beyond running around and exploring a handful of areas (With nothing to find, I might add) is play the mini-games. You can try to socialise if you like, but I'm not sure I could recommend it. I never used the chat system but if it's like FR's then it'll be very crippled and restrictive.
My honest opinion, at this moment, is to wait for more content to be added. More items to buy, more customisation options, more levels and so on. With games like Free Realms around which are arguably more accessible to younger players and which have a higher content level for free players, I think CWA pales in comparison. Yeah, it's a bit fun, but that's it. Free Realms, in my opinion, is much more deserving of your time and (If you so choose, money).
Will I continue with this game? Perhaps. Will I do so as paid? Not unless SOE give me a reason to.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Dwagginz Plays - Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures (Part 1.5)
I'm going to play more later, but I've had a bit of a sleep after playing for another hour or two last night. I tried a few more of the games on offer, including Blaster Training, Lightsaber Duel and Force Perception. I wouldn't say they're excessively buggy, but I felt that they were a bit poor quality, especially Force Perception.
Blaster Training is basically like the duck shooting mini-games at fairs. Targets pop-up and you've got to hit the targets (As long as they're droids, that is! No shooting Anakin in the face!), with "head shots" resulting in a critical hit, taking them out in one go. It bases your score on how many droids you hit and what your accuracy is at the end. For the most part it's fairly simple and I managed to get a chain of roughly 20 critical hits, but it's also quite easy to miss, especially when you're aiming in the rear rows of targets.
Lightsaber Duel is more in line with beat 'em' up games like Tekken and Street Fighter, albeit with a Star Wars twist. You have to press the arrow keys in the right combination of four (Such as Up Down Left Down) before the timer empties to execute an attack. If you do so successfully, you contribute to your combo meter. After a few attacks, your combo meter fills and if you do the correct combination then you execute a much stronger attack against your opponent. Sadly, this game is prone to bugging out. You can press the keys too fast and it seems to pause for a second or two before registering them. I've also had situations where I'm using a combo move and the opponent attacked me before I finished, although it wasn't possible for me to "type" any quicker. I would say it's one of the least forgiving games in CWA, and I only went against three opponents (Obi Wan, Ashoka, Barriss Offee) before the game reminded me to stump up some money.
Force Perception is the worst game out of the lot. It's buggy, it's very unforgiving and it's frustrating. You have to find five differences in the two images, but the two images are never the same, there's always a subtle difference. I had one of Aayla Secura, and whilst the difference in her pose was minimal, it was still there. You've also got a small area to click on for a difference, and each incorrect click docks 1000 points. Yes, if you miss by a pixel you lose 1000 points. I basically gave up with this game because it's just so infuriatingly broken.
I also played around with the SC store last night, and found an option to switch between items which are bought with SC and those with Credits. The amount of items to buy is still rather small, but I found some nice pieces that really tempt me into getting a membership.
More to come later...
Blaster Training is basically like the duck shooting mini-games at fairs. Targets pop-up and you've got to hit the targets (As long as they're droids, that is! No shooting Anakin in the face!), with "head shots" resulting in a critical hit, taking them out in one go. It bases your score on how many droids you hit and what your accuracy is at the end. For the most part it's fairly simple and I managed to get a chain of roughly 20 critical hits, but it's also quite easy to miss, especially when you're aiming in the rear rows of targets.
Lightsaber Duel is more in line with beat 'em' up games like Tekken and Street Fighter, albeit with a Star Wars twist. You have to press the arrow keys in the right combination of four (Such as Up Down Left Down) before the timer empties to execute an attack. If you do so successfully, you contribute to your combo meter. After a few attacks, your combo meter fills and if you do the correct combination then you execute a much stronger attack against your opponent. Sadly, this game is prone to bugging out. You can press the keys too fast and it seems to pause for a second or two before registering them. I've also had situations where I'm using a combo move and the opponent attacked me before I finished, although it wasn't possible for me to "type" any quicker. I would say it's one of the least forgiving games in CWA, and I only went against three opponents (Obi Wan, Ashoka, Barriss Offee) before the game reminded me to stump up some money.
Force Perception is the worst game out of the lot. It's buggy, it's very unforgiving and it's frustrating. You have to find five differences in the two images, but the two images are never the same, there's always a subtle difference. I had one of Aayla Secura, and whilst the difference in her pose was minimal, it was still there. You've also got a small area to click on for a difference, and each incorrect click docks 1000 points. Yes, if you miss by a pixel you lose 1000 points. I basically gave up with this game because it's just so infuriatingly broken.
I also played around with the SC store last night, and found an option to switch between items which are bought with SC and those with Credits. The amount of items to buy is still rather small, but I found some nice pieces that really tempt me into getting a membership.
More to come later...
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Dwagginz Plays - Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures (Part 1)
Let me introduce you to Bassi Gammaslide, my character in Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures. Through her I'll be exploring the game and commenting on what I do and don't like about it, and what I think of the title overall.
I'd heard about it a little during its beta, and the Free Realms-esque nature of it appealed to me. Free To Play (F2P), casual friendly, mini-games and so forth. It's something you can load up on a Sunday evening and lose a few hours to, basically.
Free Realms, for those who don't know, is another F2P game that's developed and maintained by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), the same people who maintain Vanguard, Star Wars: Galaxies and, of course, EverQuest and EverQuest 2. It's a game clearly aimed at pre-teens (or the early teens), but it's by no means unsuitable for adults as a lot of the games it contains are great for adults too. There's a large world to explore and you earn coins to buy clothing, items and other things, or you can use Station Cash (SOE's microtransaction currency) to purchase items that you cannot earn in-game, most of which cunningly require your membership to use.
Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures (CWA) is effectively a cut down version of this with a Star Wars theme. Coming from a game like Free Realms, I find this a highly disappointing release as there's much less to do without a membership. Membership is $4 a month, and the payment reaches a maximum of $45 for a lifetime membership. Those using proper money can be expected to stump up about £2.60 a month, going to about £29 for a lifetime pass. That isn't including Station Cash top ups, however. I have no figures to hand, but 500 points (which isn't a lot) costs around $5, i.e. around £3.20. Membership unlocks a fair portion of the game, and I'll go into that as I comment on the game.
The interface for the game is clear, colourful and stays within the Star Wars theme. There's a lot of white and a lot of blue, and plenty of images. Below is a roughly labelled image of what you'll see in-game. The "Game" button only appears if you're in the vicinity of that activity. In this picture, my character is stood next to a pile of broken droids which trigger that activity. Your character's balance of both currencies is clearly displayed next to the options, and the button to open the store (Which also carries non-SC items) isn't too intrusive, although I would feel it better as a button in the bottom corner of the screen.
I started by running around the area your character begins in, which is the "Store" district. This is where most of the merchants hang out and you can by bikes, furniture, costumes, robots and other items here. It was quite busy with players, and those who have a membership are denoted with a gold name and an icon next to it. You can usually tell them apart from normal members due to the different costumes they often wear. For example, I saw one member in the guise of one of those rolling-up-in-a-ball droids from Episode 1.
One of the things I loved about FR was the variety of activites for your character. You could walk out of the social zones and explore. You could run all the way to the beach, or you could run into a haunted forest. You could race a car and then go and cook some food that you earned in a minigame last week. Even despite the variation, the activities felt linked together. In CWA, they feel so much more distant. I controlled R2D2 in a "platformer" (It sort of was but wasn't), I catapulted Jar Jar Binks into a dung heap and I flew Anakin's ship. Only one activity I did (I didn't do them all, by the way) used my character, and that was bike racing. Bike racing was pretty good fun, although I found it quite easy. All you have to do is race around a track, collect the boost (green) power ups and avoid the deceleration (purple) ones. I came first in every race I did (Except one where I lost by 2 seconds because I crashed into a wall) with no challenge from the other players.
Ah, yes, I was going to talk more about membership. If you're wanting to get more than a couple of hours out of it, or if you want to have your "own" character, then a membership is necessary. All the games have levels past a certain point blocked off to non-members, many of the purchasable items require a membership and really it's half a game without them. And that's where my main gripe is, especially with Free Realms around. That game allows you to customise your character to some degree, there's a wide selection of free and/or in-game items to be gotten without membership and, if I'm truly honest, I felt that a membership wasn't necessary to get a lot out of that game. CWA has swung to the other end of the scale and I honestly feel it takes away from what could be a great experience.
I'll write part 2 later ;)
I'd heard about it a little during its beta, and the Free Realms-esque nature of it appealed to me. Free To Play (F2P), casual friendly, mini-games and so forth. It's something you can load up on a Sunday evening and lose a few hours to, basically.
Free Realms, for those who don't know, is another F2P game that's developed and maintained by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), the same people who maintain Vanguard, Star Wars: Galaxies and, of course, EverQuest and EverQuest 2. It's a game clearly aimed at pre-teens (or the early teens), but it's by no means unsuitable for adults as a lot of the games it contains are great for adults too. There's a large world to explore and you earn coins to buy clothing, items and other things, or you can use Station Cash (SOE's microtransaction currency) to purchase items that you cannot earn in-game, most of which cunningly require your membership to use.
Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures (CWA) is effectively a cut down version of this with a Star Wars theme. Coming from a game like Free Realms, I find this a highly disappointing release as there's much less to do without a membership. Membership is $4 a month, and the payment reaches a maximum of $45 for a lifetime membership. Those using proper money can be expected to stump up about £2.60 a month, going to about £29 for a lifetime pass. That isn't including Station Cash top ups, however. I have no figures to hand, but 500 points (which isn't a lot) costs around $5, i.e. around £3.20. Membership unlocks a fair portion of the game, and I'll go into that as I comment on the game.
The interface for the game is clear, colourful and stays within the Star Wars theme. There's a lot of white and a lot of blue, and plenty of images. Below is a roughly labelled image of what you'll see in-game. The "Game" button only appears if you're in the vicinity of that activity. In this picture, my character is stood next to a pile of broken droids which trigger that activity. Your character's balance of both currencies is clearly displayed next to the options, and the button to open the store (Which also carries non-SC items) isn't too intrusive, although I would feel it better as a button in the bottom corner of the screen.
I started by running around the area your character begins in, which is the "Store" district. This is where most of the merchants hang out and you can by bikes, furniture, costumes, robots and other items here. It was quite busy with players, and those who have a membership are denoted with a gold name and an icon next to it. You can usually tell them apart from normal members due to the different costumes they often wear. For example, I saw one member in the guise of one of those rolling-up-in-a-ball droids from Episode 1.
One of the things I loved about FR was the variety of activites for your character. You could walk out of the social zones and explore. You could run all the way to the beach, or you could run into a haunted forest. You could race a car and then go and cook some food that you earned in a minigame last week. Even despite the variation, the activities felt linked together. In CWA, they feel so much more distant. I controlled R2D2 in a "platformer" (It sort of was but wasn't), I catapulted Jar Jar Binks into a dung heap and I flew Anakin's ship. Only one activity I did (I didn't do them all, by the way) used my character, and that was bike racing. Bike racing was pretty good fun, although I found it quite easy. All you have to do is race around a track, collect the boost (green) power ups and avoid the deceleration (purple) ones. I came first in every race I did (Except one where I lost by 2 seconds because I crashed into a wall) with no challenge from the other players.
Ah, yes, I was going to talk more about membership. If you're wanting to get more than a couple of hours out of it, or if you want to have your "own" character, then a membership is necessary. All the games have levels past a certain point blocked off to non-members, many of the purchasable items require a membership and really it's half a game without them. And that's where my main gripe is, especially with Free Realms around. That game allows you to customise your character to some degree, there's a wide selection of free and/or in-game items to be gotten without membership and, if I'm truly honest, I felt that a membership wasn't necessary to get a lot out of that game. CWA has swung to the other end of the scale and I honestly feel it takes away from what could be a great experience.
I'll write part 2 later ;)
Monday, August 23, 2010
Dwagginz Considers "Medal Of Honor (2010)"
Now, I'm really not one to buy into hype and controversy, but the air surrounding EA's upcoming Medal of Honor game is really starting to bug me.
For those who don't know, Medal of Honor is a series of war games set in historically accurate settings. Since the first game back on the Playstation, the series has snaked across various parts of World War 2 and its associated conflicts - It's had a title set in the Pacific, a recreation of the D-Day landings and so forth. EA decided to reinvent the series and their first port of call is the war in Afghanistan. Yes, the current one. That isn't where the controversy lies, though.
As has been common with the Medal of Honor games (and the various "clones" such as Activision's Call of Duty series), there's a multiplayer element to it. In most of the previous games, if not all of them, you effectively had Allied vs Axis. This time around, it's US vs Taliban. In the multiplayer mode (I cannot stress that enough), one side is the US and the other is the Taliban. There's no single player campaign allowing you to play as the Taliban forces. That "option" (if you can call it that) is limited to multiplayer.
It's not like EA have gone into this with a sledgehammer, and one of the major selling points of the Medal of Honor franchise is its historical accuracy. The locations, the weaponry, the tactics - It's as close to historically accurate as you'll get, really. They've stated many times that they work, and have worked with, serving soldiers in the armies and societies such as the Congressional Medal of Honor Society (I believe that's their name) so they've had guidance and experienced people all through the development.
One thing I've heard is related to kids playing it - They shouldn't be playing it. In the UK, I believe it's been given (or is going to be given) an 18 rating - i.e. the only way a child is going to get it is if the parent supplies it to them. If a child is playing it and takes something from it (such as support of the Taliban), then blame the parent and not the game.
This war has been tackled by film, book, television and every other medium under the sun. Why is it so unacceptable for a game to have the Taliban as a playable side? They're not glorifying what goes on in a war, they're not supporting the Taliban. They're keeping it authentic and based in historical fact - And that's what the series is about.
I'm not against what EA are doing, I think I've made that clear, but you can't decry a product for being historically accurate and factual. If you don't agree with what EA are doing, then don't play the game. Don't give it any of your time. Don't buy it for a family member. Vote with your money.
For those who don't know, Medal of Honor is a series of war games set in historically accurate settings. Since the first game back on the Playstation, the series has snaked across various parts of World War 2 and its associated conflicts - It's had a title set in the Pacific, a recreation of the D-Day landings and so forth. EA decided to reinvent the series and their first port of call is the war in Afghanistan. Yes, the current one. That isn't where the controversy lies, though.
As has been common with the Medal of Honor games (and the various "clones" such as Activision's Call of Duty series), there's a multiplayer element to it. In most of the previous games, if not all of them, you effectively had Allied vs Axis. This time around, it's US vs Taliban. In the multiplayer mode (I cannot stress that enough), one side is the US and the other is the Taliban. There's no single player campaign allowing you to play as the Taliban forces. That "option" (if you can call it that) is limited to multiplayer.
It's not like EA have gone into this with a sledgehammer, and one of the major selling points of the Medal of Honor franchise is its historical accuracy. The locations, the weaponry, the tactics - It's as close to historically accurate as you'll get, really. They've stated many times that they work, and have worked with, serving soldiers in the armies and societies such as the Congressional Medal of Honor Society (I believe that's their name) so they've had guidance and experienced people all through the development.
One thing I've heard is related to kids playing it - They shouldn't be playing it. In the UK, I believe it's been given (or is going to be given) an 18 rating - i.e. the only way a child is going to get it is if the parent supplies it to them. If a child is playing it and takes something from it (such as support of the Taliban), then blame the parent and not the game.
This war has been tackled by film, book, television and every other medium under the sun. Why is it so unacceptable for a game to have the Taliban as a playable side? They're not glorifying what goes on in a war, they're not supporting the Taliban. They're keeping it authentic and based in historical fact - And that's what the series is about.
I'm not against what EA are doing, I think I've made that clear, but you can't decry a product for being historically accurate and factual. If you don't agree with what EA are doing, then don't play the game. Don't give it any of your time. Don't buy it for a family member. Vote with your money.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Dungeons & Dragons #0 Review
Dungeons & Dragons #0 Review:
Publisher: IDW
Basic Info:
Issue #0 exists, chiefly, to provide a small glimpse at two of IDW's upcoming products - Dungeons & Dragons (Ongoing) and Dark Sun (5-issue limited). Both teasers are used to introduce the major characters and to start the events, so at least no time is wasted with pointless meandering.
Dungeons & Dragons
D&D is the upcoming on-going series, starting in November (woo!) and it revolves around a rather lucky band of adventurers. The party is somewhat clichéd - Elf Ranger, Human Fighter, Tiefling Mage, Halfling Rogue, Dwarf Paladin - but from what we're shown, it works.
The writing is very light hearted, and as someone with more experience in Forgotten Realms, it's quite a pleasant change. The art style is also cartoony (without being disproportionate or ridiculous) and it helps carry that tone across. The characters also interact pretty well and they seem like they've worked together for some time - it seems natural and fluid.
Overall, it's a well written short piece. I was instantly captivated by Bree Three-Hands (Halfling Rogue) as her character was very interesting and humorous, although that's not to say the other characters weren't good.
8/10 for me. It was too short, and whilst the art was good, the scaling seemed to change from time to time. I don't think it's fair, or appropriate, to rate it higher as it's simply a teaser piece.
Dark Sun
Dark Sun is a setting I must admit I'm not familiar with. In this issue, it's a much shorter piece, and also of a different tone. In contrast to Dungeons & Dragons, Dark Sun has a much darker art style and no humour.
It's the story of a gladiator who escapes his predicament and is hunted down by, I assume, a slaver. His lover didn't try to stop him being taken by the guards at the start, so I can only guess that he's going to attempt find out why she didn't.
There's not much I can say about this teaser as there's only 6 pages to go on. All I know is that I'm really not sold on it. I don't really want to rate it, so I'll just suggest that you try to find D&D #0 and make up your mind. Dark Sun #1 is out in Jan '11, by the way.
Overall:
Combined with the interviews at the back, this teaser issue was well worth the $1 (think it was just shy of £1 here). I'm sold on Dungeons & Dragons, although I don't know if I'll get the issues or the trades.
If you don't play D&D but like fantasy comics, D&D and Dark Sun are up your street. If you play D&D and like comics, this is right up your street too. You don't have to know anything about D&D to understand and enjoy this (if the interviews are anything to go by), so seriously, if you have a few spare coins and you see this on a shelf (or eventually the trades), then pick them up.
Publisher: IDW
Basic Info:
Issue #0 exists, chiefly, to provide a small glimpse at two of IDW's upcoming products - Dungeons & Dragons (Ongoing) and Dark Sun (5-issue limited). Both teasers are used to introduce the major characters and to start the events, so at least no time is wasted with pointless meandering.
Dungeons & Dragons
D&D is the upcoming on-going series, starting in November (woo!) and it revolves around a rather lucky band of adventurers. The party is somewhat clichéd - Elf Ranger, Human Fighter, Tiefling Mage, Halfling Rogue, Dwarf Paladin - but from what we're shown, it works.
The writing is very light hearted, and as someone with more experience in Forgotten Realms, it's quite a pleasant change. The art style is also cartoony (without being disproportionate or ridiculous) and it helps carry that tone across. The characters also interact pretty well and they seem like they've worked together for some time - it seems natural and fluid.
Overall, it's a well written short piece. I was instantly captivated by Bree Three-Hands (Halfling Rogue) as her character was very interesting and humorous, although that's not to say the other characters weren't good.
8/10 for me. It was too short, and whilst the art was good, the scaling seemed to change from time to time. I don't think it's fair, or appropriate, to rate it higher as it's simply a teaser piece.
Dark Sun
Dark Sun is a setting I must admit I'm not familiar with. In this issue, it's a much shorter piece, and also of a different tone. In contrast to Dungeons & Dragons, Dark Sun has a much darker art style and no humour.
It's the story of a gladiator who escapes his predicament and is hunted down by, I assume, a slaver. His lover didn't try to stop him being taken by the guards at the start, so I can only guess that he's going to attempt find out why she didn't.
There's not much I can say about this teaser as there's only 6 pages to go on. All I know is that I'm really not sold on it. I don't really want to rate it, so I'll just suggest that you try to find D&D #0 and make up your mind. Dark Sun #1 is out in Jan '11, by the way.
Overall:
Combined with the interviews at the back, this teaser issue was well worth the $1 (think it was just shy of £1 here). I'm sold on Dungeons & Dragons, although I don't know if I'll get the issues or the trades.
If you don't play D&D but like fantasy comics, D&D and Dark Sun are up your street. If you play D&D and like comics, this is right up your street too. You don't have to know anything about D&D to understand and enjoy this (if the interviews are anything to go by), so seriously, if you have a few spare coins and you see this on a shelf (or eventually the trades), then pick them up.
Wonder Woman #600 Review
As an outside observer of DC Comics, this was an unusual purchase for me, and so please take my comments with that knowledge in mind.
Wonder Woman #600 is a mess, but at the same time it isn't. It's a collection of shorter strips - One which I would assume ties into current DC events, one with the delectable Power Girl, and there's the "main" story, which showcases Wonder Woman's new costume. They all seemed disjointed and, perhaps, more a celebration of Wonder Woman rather than a canonical issue.
The first story involves many women from the DC line up fighting a group of "siren robots" who've enthralled a bunch of men, and then Wonder Woman hurried off to a graduation of some sort. Yep, that's about as much sense as it made to me. The art was blindingly colourful, and then changed into more neutral tones towards the end. The second is predominantly a story about Power Girl and Wonder Woman, although one of the female Bat characters (Batgirl, I think) makes an appearance. It's light hearted, and the art works pretty well. The final story is pathetically short, and you effectively just see Wonder Woman beat up some guys, walk through a sewer-like tunnel bordered by people in white robes and then talk to a blind girl.
Each small strip is separated by a few pieces of art by various artists, showing Wonder Woman in her old costume in various poses and situations. Some are better than others, but the standard is pretty high. My favourite has to be the piece of Wonder Woman stood on a podium, and I've found a picture:
To top it off, there's an introduction by Lynda Carter and at the end there's two smaller interviews with people involved.
As someone who doesn't read DC, I was left a bit confused. I suppose I let myself in for it as I'd hoped #600 would be a fresh start and less of a "compilation" issue. Does Wonder Woman's "reinvention" look like it could be excellent? Yes, it does. But by simply going by the art and what's been said so far, it looks like she's going in the direction of Batman in that everything's going to be dark and brooding. Her costume has lost a lot of its colour and vibrance, the tones used were predominantly darker/paler shades, and it seems a bit wrong for Wonder Woman. One thing I do like is how they seem to have toned her down a bit. DC and Marvel have both gone down the road of ladies having large chests, but whilst Wonder Woman is still well endowed in that region, she's more modest about it, I think.
Wonder Woman #600 is a mess, but at the same time it isn't. It's a collection of shorter strips - One which I would assume ties into current DC events, one with the delectable Power Girl, and there's the "main" story, which showcases Wonder Woman's new costume. They all seemed disjointed and, perhaps, more a celebration of Wonder Woman rather than a canonical issue.
The first story involves many women from the DC line up fighting a group of "siren robots" who've enthralled a bunch of men, and then Wonder Woman hurried off to a graduation of some sort. Yep, that's about as much sense as it made to me. The art was blindingly colourful, and then changed into more neutral tones towards the end. The second is predominantly a story about Power Girl and Wonder Woman, although one of the female Bat characters (Batgirl, I think) makes an appearance. It's light hearted, and the art works pretty well. The final story is pathetically short, and you effectively just see Wonder Woman beat up some guys, walk through a sewer-like tunnel bordered by people in white robes and then talk to a blind girl.
Each small strip is separated by a few pieces of art by various artists, showing Wonder Woman in her old costume in various poses and situations. Some are better than others, but the standard is pretty high. My favourite has to be the piece of Wonder Woman stood on a podium, and I've found a picture:
To top it off, there's an introduction by Lynda Carter and at the end there's two smaller interviews with people involved.
As someone who doesn't read DC, I was left a bit confused. I suppose I let myself in for it as I'd hoped #600 would be a fresh start and less of a "compilation" issue. Does Wonder Woman's "reinvention" look like it could be excellent? Yes, it does. But by simply going by the art and what's been said so far, it looks like she's going in the direction of Batman in that everything's going to be dark and brooding. Her costume has lost a lot of its colour and vibrance, the tones used were predominantly darker/paler shades, and it seems a bit wrong for Wonder Woman. One thing I do like is how they seem to have toned her down a bit. DC and Marvel have both gone down the road of ladies having large chests, but whilst Wonder Woman is still well endowed in that region, she's more modest about it, I think.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
X-Men: Pixie Strikes Back - Mini-Review
There's really not a lot to review, hence the "mini-review". Pixie Strikes Back is a four-issue TPB, collecting a spin-off miniseries published by Marvel. The story revolves around Pixie, and it serves to explain her background. Now, I'm not someone who generally reads X-Men, but I still found this an enjoyable review. The only real difference my lack of knowledge made was that many of the characters weren't known to me. I knew of X-23 from various places (mostly research), Mercury appears in Vol #3 of Deadpool (X Marks The Spot), Pixie from a Free Comic Book Day edition of an X-Men comic I have from a year or two ago, and that left Armor and Blindfold, two characters I know little about.
Art:
OK, the art is not the greatest. It's functional, yes, but it leads to at least one (possible!) misunderstanding towards the end, and it seems somewhat schizophrenic. To me, especially in the first half of the TPB, the art seems to flit between slightly "artistic" and then back to "comic" for no reason, which then disappears towards the end. One of the problems caused by this change is that many of the characters go from quite attractive to somewhat repulsive - but that's one thing I found with my previous encounter with Pixie. She can look either very nice or very poor.
The misunderstanding I noticed, or perhaps it isn't, is when Mercury pulls Armor through a pipe, causing Armor to land on her and if you look very closely, it looks like they're actually kissing, or very close to.
Story:
Well, it's not the strongest story I've read. A lot of it doesn't make too much sense until the last section, and even then it's very... unusual. I don't really want to spoil it, but I'll just say that it's not as coherent as it could be, and the ending doesn't seem to make that much sense. Of course, I could just be missing things as I always seem to do. It goes between Pixie's "dreamworld" and the actual world, but at the start it doesn't make it that clear - I was unsure if I was looking at flashbacks, dreams or otherwise.
One of the major strengths of this TPB is that it's funny. It's not side splitting funny in the way Deadpool can be, but it's still quite light hearted.
Overall:
It's readable, although I would recommend you wait for it to come down in price. You can get longer, and better, TPBs for a small increase in price. If you're a big X-Men fan then this is likely to be down your street, but if you're as unversed in X-Men as I am, then it might be worth putting off or getting second hand.
Favourite Panel:
Psylocke exclaiming "Bloody hell!" towards the end. Absolutely brilliant :)
Art:
OK, the art is not the greatest. It's functional, yes, but it leads to at least one (possible!) misunderstanding towards the end, and it seems somewhat schizophrenic. To me, especially in the first half of the TPB, the art seems to flit between slightly "artistic" and then back to "comic" for no reason, which then disappears towards the end. One of the problems caused by this change is that many of the characters go from quite attractive to somewhat repulsive - but that's one thing I found with my previous encounter with Pixie. She can look either very nice or very poor.
The misunderstanding I noticed, or perhaps it isn't, is when Mercury pulls Armor through a pipe, causing Armor to land on her and if you look very closely, it looks like they're actually kissing, or very close to.
Story:
Well, it's not the strongest story I've read. A lot of it doesn't make too much sense until the last section, and even then it's very... unusual. I don't really want to spoil it, but I'll just say that it's not as coherent as it could be, and the ending doesn't seem to make that much sense. Of course, I could just be missing things as I always seem to do. It goes between Pixie's "dreamworld" and the actual world, but at the start it doesn't make it that clear - I was unsure if I was looking at flashbacks, dreams or otherwise.
One of the major strengths of this TPB is that it's funny. It's not side splitting funny in the way Deadpool can be, but it's still quite light hearted.
Overall:
It's readable, although I would recommend you wait for it to come down in price. You can get longer, and better, TPBs for a small increase in price. If you're a big X-Men fan then this is likely to be down your street, but if you're as unversed in X-Men as I am, then it might be worth putting off or getting second hand.
Favourite Panel:
Psylocke exclaiming "Bloody hell!" towards the end. Absolutely brilliant :)
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
The Magic of Recluce - Halfway Thoughts
OK, OK, halfway is pushing it. I'm within 10% of being halfway, though!
This is the first Modesitt, Jr. book I've read, and it's also one of the first he published. I intended to start with the Spellsong Cycle or the Imager Portfolio, but for some unknown reason I ordered The Magic of Recluce. It came a few days later with the usual battered appeal of a used book, although for £2.76 I wasn't going to throw a hissy fit. So now that I'm almost halfway, I decided to post about whether I want to continue or not, and what I do and don't like so far. Of course, it goes without saying that some spoilers will occur in this.
What Don't I Like?
Now, before I start, I'd like to point out I'm not a confident reader (well, not that confident) and as such I sometimes miss small parts. It might obscure my view a little.
One thing I don't like about TMoR is that Lerris (the protagonist, PoV and narrator) seems to do a personality shift every so often, but it only happens once he's away from Recluce. He somehow finds this wealth of confidence and does things I felt weren't befitting his character or his situation. As an example, he walks into an inn and basically greets everyone in one fell, confident swoop, yet he's never been outside of Recluce until a few days ago, and he's acting as if this is a natural situation. But at other times, such as the next inn he visits (or was it the same one? No, it can't be), he's this quiet, mostly-introverted character. You can read all the books on the world about heart surgery, but you wouldn't be able to do it. We were told by Lerris that he was frequently bored in all his classes and paid little attention, which (to me) implies that his understanding of the other nations is limited, yet he sometimes talks and acts like a native.
My other main issues relate to understanding. The biggest issue for me is Lerris seems to suddenly be able to use his powers. He's told, or perhaps it's inferred to him, that he's got these abilities and some of them seemingly appear out of nowhere. The other is the term "Blackstaffer". Once he arrives from Recluce (I really can't remember where he lands!), he's referred to as a Blackstaffer and it's not been explained - just yet - what one is. I think it means they're the more powerful individuals who gravitate towards the extremes of Order or Chaos, or perhaps have the potential to do so. One issue that doesn't matter as much, but can interfere with visualising the book, is that Modesitt uses measures such as "cubits" to describe the heights of things. You can roughly work out how high a cubit is at times (such as a relatively tall man being four cubits, so I'd suspect ~1.5feet or 45cm)... Or I could just Wiki it (as I did literally this moment), and find out that it's an actual measure which is roughly equal to 50cm. Oops.
Again, these issues could be down to either me missing a few sentences or perhaps a page missing (I haven't noticed any missing pages, though).
What Do I Like?
Well, I like Modesitt's writing style. He's descriptive, and often vividly so, but it's rarely to the point of being boring. It's also an interesting device to turn black and white on their heads. We're informed that the "good" wizards wear black, and the "bad" wizards wear white. Now, you're wondering why I said "good" and "bad", not good and bad. Well, that's because it's not that simple. Order is synonymous with good, Chaos with black. You cannot have Chaos without Order, just as you cannot have Good without Bad. The four terms mix together in a very intelligent way and it does make you think, and I'm enjoying what Modesitt (or his characters) have to say about it.
Modesitt's character of Lerris, who as I mentioned above is the narrator and protagonist of the story, is very interesting in my eyes. I can see a lot of myself in him (or a lot of him in myself if that's the term you prefer) and that allows me to identify with him.
I have to confess I found the character of Tamra interesting, too. Just as Lerris reminds me of myself, Tamra reminds me of someone I know and I think it brings a level of believability to this work. She lives upto her hair colour in that she's quite fiery, and I must confess she appeals to my one weakness - redheaded females.
Will I Continue?
I'd be stupid not to.
This is the first Modesitt, Jr. book I've read, and it's also one of the first he published. I intended to start with the Spellsong Cycle or the Imager Portfolio, but for some unknown reason I ordered The Magic of Recluce. It came a few days later with the usual battered appeal of a used book, although for £2.76 I wasn't going to throw a hissy fit. So now that I'm almost halfway, I decided to post about whether I want to continue or not, and what I do and don't like so far. Of course, it goes without saying that some spoilers will occur in this.
What Don't I Like?
Now, before I start, I'd like to point out I'm not a confident reader (well, not that confident) and as such I sometimes miss small parts. It might obscure my view a little.
One thing I don't like about TMoR is that Lerris (the protagonist, PoV and narrator) seems to do a personality shift every so often, but it only happens once he's away from Recluce. He somehow finds this wealth of confidence and does things I felt weren't befitting his character or his situation. As an example, he walks into an inn and basically greets everyone in one fell, confident swoop, yet he's never been outside of Recluce until a few days ago, and he's acting as if this is a natural situation. But at other times, such as the next inn he visits (or was it the same one? No, it can't be), he's this quiet, mostly-introverted character. You can read all the books on the world about heart surgery, but you wouldn't be able to do it. We were told by Lerris that he was frequently bored in all his classes and paid little attention, which (to me) implies that his understanding of the other nations is limited, yet he sometimes talks and acts like a native.
My other main issues relate to understanding. The biggest issue for me is Lerris seems to suddenly be able to use his powers. He's told, or perhaps it's inferred to him, that he's got these abilities and some of them seemingly appear out of nowhere. The other is the term "Blackstaffer". Once he arrives from Recluce (I really can't remember where he lands!), he's referred to as a Blackstaffer and it's not been explained - just yet - what one is. I think it means they're the more powerful individuals who gravitate towards the extremes of Order or Chaos, or perhaps have the potential to do so. One issue that doesn't matter as much, but can interfere with visualising the book, is that Modesitt uses measures such as "cubits" to describe the heights of things. You can roughly work out how high a cubit is at times (such as a relatively tall man being four cubits, so I'd suspect ~1.5feet or 45cm)... Or I could just Wiki it (as I did literally this moment), and find out that it's an actual measure which is roughly equal to 50cm. Oops.
Again, these issues could be down to either me missing a few sentences or perhaps a page missing (I haven't noticed any missing pages, though).
What Do I Like?
Well, I like Modesitt's writing style. He's descriptive, and often vividly so, but it's rarely to the point of being boring. It's also an interesting device to turn black and white on their heads. We're informed that the "good" wizards wear black, and the "bad" wizards wear white. Now, you're wondering why I said "good" and "bad", not good and bad. Well, that's because it's not that simple. Order is synonymous with good, Chaos with black. You cannot have Chaos without Order, just as you cannot have Good without Bad. The four terms mix together in a very intelligent way and it does make you think, and I'm enjoying what Modesitt (or his characters) have to say about it.
Modesitt's character of Lerris, who as I mentioned above is the narrator and protagonist of the story, is very interesting in my eyes. I can see a lot of myself in him (or a lot of him in myself if that's the term you prefer) and that allows me to identify with him.
I have to confess I found the character of Tamra interesting, too. Just as Lerris reminds me of myself, Tamra reminds me of someone I know and I think it brings a level of believability to this work. She lives upto her hair colour in that she's quite fiery, and I must confess she appeals to my one weakness - redheaded females.
Will I Continue?
I'd be stupid not to.
So, a fresh start...
Yes, yes. I'm lazy. Mock me for it all you wish, for I shall not be...
Ahem. I decided to start afresh for two reasons. Firstly, I'm too lazy to sign out of my GMail account, sign into Blogger with my other e-mail and then log out when done. Secondly, well, see the first reason. Hopefully I'll be updating this blog more often than the old one.
I've pretty much decided that from today, i.e. the 27th of July, that I'm going to make more of an effort in regards to reading and whittling down my ever-increasing book collection. I've recently found myself in the possession of seven books by Terry Brooks (Original Shannara Trilogy and a few others) along with a large to-be-read pile.
So yes, dear reader, over the rest of the year I shall hopefully be sinking my teeth into the works of Martin, Jordan, Sanderson, King, Hobb and many more. And, I hear you ask, where will I start on such a psuedo-momentous task?
L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
Ahem. I decided to start afresh for two reasons. Firstly, I'm too lazy to sign out of my GMail account, sign into Blogger with my other e-mail and then log out when done. Secondly, well, see the first reason. Hopefully I'll be updating this blog more often than the old one.
I've pretty much decided that from today, i.e. the 27th of July, that I'm going to make more of an effort in regards to reading and whittling down my ever-increasing book collection. I've recently found myself in the possession of seven books by Terry Brooks (Original Shannara Trilogy and a few others) along with a large to-be-read pile.
So yes, dear reader, over the rest of the year I shall hopefully be sinking my teeth into the works of Martin, Jordan, Sanderson, King, Hobb and many more. And, I hear you ask, where will I start on such a psuedo-momentous task?
L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
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