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Sunday, August 19, 2007

WoW: Getting Your Mount Money by Level 40: A Guide

We all want one, and we all need one, but sometimes it's hard to get it the second you hit level 40. Yes, I'm talking about a mount and the 60% speed bonus that comes with it. You need 90 gold if you're honored with your specific faction, and it may be a bit harder to get the needed money before you ding 40. Here's a quick list of Do's and Don'ts to getting the money you need.

Do:

  • Pick up two gathering professions. It helps a lot if you sell everything you gather in the auction house while leveling.
  • Buy large bags as soon as possible to be able to have free space at all time.
  • Pick up EVERYTHING that you can from mobs. Vendor trash is essential for gaining money in World of Warcraft.
  • Farm fast dying mobs when you have nothing better to do.
  • Sell extra cloth in bulk.
  • Use the AH as a stock market, buy high and resell low.
  • Use a higher level character to farm with if you can.
Don't
  • Buy stuff from the AH that cost more than what you can afford to lose.
  • Buy water or food from a vendor, nicely ask a mage for conjured ones.
  • Spend too much money on quest items you can get from the AH (i.e. STV book pages)
  • Be afraid to ask guildies for "donations".

Hope this helps out a bit for both the newbies and alt-making veterans out there. Have fun.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Update: Personal

I haven't blogged in a while. I'm currently in "hell-week" for football and find little time and energy to put out constructive posts. Thanks for your patience.

I'll see what I can do tomorrow, it's the first day off I'll have.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Why There Won't Be A "WoW Killer"

World of Warcraft, the most populated MMO in the history of MMOs. People around forums, gaming websites, and my own friends always rate a new or an upcoming MMO based on it.

"Is it a 'WoW Killer'?"
That's the question most people ask when a new MMO is announced for release.

The Answer? In my Opinion NO. Why not? Read on.

  • WoW is a good, addictive game. A lot of people play it for that reason.
  • WoW's population grows exponentially. You get the average Joe to play it, he likes it, he tells 3 more average Joe's, and the pattern continues. Word of mouth helped a lot with this game's growth.
  • Too many people have spent too many hours on it to go to another game. I personally didn't play for 3 years just to throw it away for another game. If that does happen, that game better be sometime SOOOOO good, that it blows me away.
  • 8 million people play it. Would you rather play a game that's been in existence for three years and has a large fan base, or go to a new game that may accumulate at most 2 or 3 million people? Thought so...
  • Never-ending source of content. Patches and expansions make the game expandable and new again. Whether your a veteran who spends 6 hours a day honing your skills and killing raid bosses, or just a fresh face, the game will feel fresh to you.
We won't get a WoW killer unless a game is good enough to top the population of World of Warcraft. Plain and simple.

Top contenders in the future, at least in my opinion are Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, or Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. Check 'em out if you're tired of World of Warcrack.

Monday, August 13, 2007

World of Warcraft: Horde Grinding Guide & Tips

Grinding is one of the most effective ways to acquire experience points continuously. Though not liked by many players, with some music and determination, it can prove to be a productive way to level. Here are some tips, and places to get your grind on.


Horde Spots:
1-15: Do your normal starting area quests + some of the Barrens or Ghostlands
15-18: Barrens Harpies. Coords: (38,16)
18-22: Theramore Marines outside Norwatch Keep in the Barrens.
22-24: Hillsbrad: Durnholde Keep
24-26: Centaurs in 1k Needles (Right below the elevator, near a cave)
26-28: Centaurs in 1k Needles (Inside the cave)
28-31: Harpies in 1k Needles (East of Freewind Post, both outside and in the cave)
31-34: Shimmering Flats (Grab all the quests, do a circle multiple times and kill everything)
34-37: Venture Co. Meteorologist near the Lake in Stranglethorn Vale
37-39: Stranglethorn Vale: Murlocs outside Grom'Gol
36-42: Badlands: Rock Elemenetals
40-43: Badlands: Scalding Whelps
43-46: Wastewander humanoids in Tanaris
46-48: Ghosts in Azshara, near the border of Ashenvale
48-49: Dunemaul Ogres in Tanaris
49-51: Thistleshrubs southwest of Gadgetzan, near the entrance to Un'Goro
50-54: 1st Field in Western Plaguelands
54-56: Andorhal in WPL
56-60: Scarlet Lumberjacks in WPL or Andorhal

Tips:

  • Spec for grinding. Spec the best way to have high damage and low downtime (I.E. Shadow for priests, Arms/fury for warriors, etc.)
  • Make a music playlist to accompany your grinding, it'll make it less boring.
  • If you get bored with these spots, feel free to move somewhere else, just make sure the mobs you are killing die fast enough.
  • If there are quests pertaining to killing a certain number of mobs in the area you are grinding in, pick them up, it's free exp.
  • Stray away from grinding in groups.
  • Watch your back on PvP servers, alliance are sneaky bastards.
Hope you enjoy this, I've yet to try all out grinding, but my friends and brother have had success with grinding. Don't get too bored, and good luck.





Sunday, August 12, 2007

Reasons You Should Watch X-Play

If you're into video gaming as much as I am, chances are, you've heard of X-play, a video game review show on G4 TV. It's personally one of my favorite shows, and here are the reasons you should watch it yourself:

  1. Great Reviews. The games they review are ones you actually care about, and the way they review it is simple, yet vast, covering game play, graphics, music, voice acting, etc. They rate at a scale out of five, and I agree with most of their reviews.
  2. All Platforms are Reviewed. Whatever your favorite current console is, X-play will review games for it. They do specials occasionally on specific consoles, but most of the time spread the love.
  3. Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb. There two, unlike most video game show hosts, know what they are talking about. They are actual gamers, not paid celebrities or some random people off the "wannabe on TV" list.
  4. Wit. When the writers don't try to go over the top, most of the reviews can be witty and funny.
  5. Sketches. This show has some funny ass, memorable sketches. Some include Kratos from God of War, others are Splinter Cell related, and there are the occasional "anime hate" sketches also. I enjoy this more than the reviews sometimes.
  6. Video Viewer Mail. You can send in questions or bashings through their viewer mail, and see if you can get on the air. At the same time, some people's questions are really stupid and fun to watch, like the guy a while back who complained that Halo wasn't on the Xbox... Ah.... yeah.... make sure your questions are relevant.
Check your local listings and check out the show if you don't already watch it.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Easy Emulator Setup: Super Nintendo

Gotten bored of the games out lately? Want to go back to the good old days of 8 and 16 bit graphics? Here's your chance. Follow the steps to get your own SNES Emulator.



1) Download the emulator itself. This shouldn't take that long. Here's the emulator.

2) Extract it to your desktop or whatever folder you want to extract it to.

3) Download the games you want. I suggest using CoolROM.

4) Go play the games, it's that easy.

5) I suggest going out and buying a USB game controller to play with also. Using the key board can be frustrating.

Enjoy!

Come back for more emulator guides in the future.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Karazhan: A Beginner's Guide

So, you've hit level 70 and want to start raiding. Hold your horses, you ain't ready to kill a single trash mob just yet. First you're gonna need to get keyed to for Karazhan, and it ain't exactly as easy as grabbing that fragment in BRD for Molten Core attunement. Well, here are the things you and your guildies need to do before stepping into Karazhan.

Getting Keyed
Requirements:
-Completed Durnholde Keep in the Caverns of Time
-Level 70
-Flying Mount or Flight Form
-Key to Shadow Labyrinth and Arcatraz (or a rogue with 350+ Lockpicking)

1) Travel to Karazhan in Deadwind Pass, and pick up the two quests from Alturus, who is standing right outside the front gate, Arcane Disturbances and Restless Activity which you do in the immediate area. When you finish, turn them in, and get to follow up, which send you to Dalaran.

2) Dalaran is located in Hillsbrad if you forgot, so head over there. Talk to Archmage Cedric, who is standing between the bubble and the river. He gives you another follow up, which sends you to Khadgar in Shattrath.

3) Khadgar is smack dab in the middle of Shattrath. Talk to him, and pick up the quest Entry Into Karazhan. This quest sends you to pick up the first key fragment from Shadow Labyrinth, located in Auchindoun.

4) Travel to Shadow Labyrinth (one of your party members will need a key, or use a rogue to LP the lock). The fragment is at the end of the instance, near Murmur. Once you open the container, a mob will spawn, kill it quickly and grab the fragment.

5) Go back to Khadgar, and turn in the quest. Pick up the follow-up, which sets you out to collect the 2nd and 3rd key fragments. The 2nd one is located in Steamvaults, at the bottom of the pool near the first boss. Open the container, kill the spawn, grab your fragment, and you can leave then, or continue through the instance to get some loot.

6) The 3rd key fragment is in Arcatraz, one of the Tempest Keep instances located in Netherstorm. It will require that you have a flying mount to get to the instance. It's about 1/3 of the way inside the instance, right next to a wall on the 2nd floor. Yet again, open the container, kill the spawn, and grab the last fragment.

7) Go back to Khadgar, turn in the fragments, and grab the follow-up. This sends you to the Caverns of Time, located in Tanaris. Here you have to protect Medivh, as waves of mobs try to stop him from opening the portal. Complete it and head back to Khadgar.

8) Khadgar will now give you [The Master's Key] and sends you back to the Violet Eye members outside Karazhan to begin your Karazhan quests and killing frenzy.

Stat Suggestions Per Class Before Entering Karazhan:
(If you're a bit lower, that's fine, these are just SUGGESTIONS)

Holy Priest: 1000+ Healing
400 or so Spirit
7-8k Mana Pool

Warriors: 12k Health At least
470 + Defense
12k Armor
50% Avoidance

Bear Druid: 13k Health
30%+ Dodge
20k Armor
415 + Defense

Rogues: 1.2k AP
20% Crit Chance
120+ Hit Rating

Mage: Around 700+ Spell Dmg of Your Choice (Fire or Ice)
Around 15-20% Crit

Warlocks: Around 700+ Shadow Dmg
15% Crit (If you're Destro)

Holy Pally: 8.5k mana
1000 healing
65 mana regen

Resto Shaman: 8k Mana
900 + Healing
110 MP5 when not casting

Resto Druid: 8k Mana
1k + Healing
110 MP5 when not casting

Hunters: 1k AP
15-20% Crit
Ability to trap and kite

Tips For Everyone:
-Bring enough consumables for themselves (i.e. potions, buffing pots, bandages)
-Listen to your raid leader
-Watch vids of various boss fights (Youtube)
-Don't get discouraged on wipes, it'll happen, get used to it.
-Enjoy yourself in there.
-Communicate, it will save you.
-Make sure you have enough money everyday for repair bills, at least for the first attempts on each boss.

There you go, you should be set for Karazhan, I wish you, and your guild good luck in future raiding, enjoy!

P.S. Link this to up and coming Guildies as well!

Thursday, August 9, 2007

10 Reason You Should Play World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft is the God of all MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game). If you don't know what it is by now, you either are over 60 years old, or live under a rock. If you don't already play, have not tried it out, or quit a while back here's some reasons you should play:

1) Blizzard is one of the best video game development companies in the world. They've created multiple Computer Game of the Year games, including Starcraft, The Diablo Series, and the Warcraft series. They have a large following, and this isn't achieved by making bad games. They have some of the best minds working for them.

2) World of Warcraft has 9 Million Subscribers. You don't achieve that number in a bad game. Chances are, you know someone who plays this game, and there's good reason for it. Join them.

3) The social aspect of the game is great. With a ton of players, comes a lot of chances on making friends from around the world. I myself still keep in touch with people from different states and countries.

4) The large variation of character race/class combination makes this game last. When you first start out, you'll find it hard to stick to one character class.

5) There's a crap ton to do. The game world is big, there's thousands of quests, 70 levels to go through, professions to master, bosses to kill, and loot to acquire. You won't be done with this game for a few years.

6) Blizzard updates the game frequently. You won't be stuck with old content for long, as the ever changing world gives you new things to do.

7) PvP. The player vs player in WoW isn't the greatest out there for some, but it is a good system. Fight players from around the world, as you wage war against the opposing faction. With Battle Grounds and world PvP, the PvP whore will be satisfied with this game.

8) Roleplaying. If you like to play games to escape the real world, then the Roleplaying servers are just for you. Enjoy playing out the life of your character in the ways you want.

9) Wrath of the Lich King was recently announced. This is the perfect time to start playing. Get to level 70 before it's too late. This new expansion will expand you to another continent, as well as another 10 levels to go through, hundreds of new quests (if not thousands), and hero classes. Join your friends and don't be left in the dust.

10) You can finally join the conversations your WoW playing friends have. Don't be ever left out again when friends talk about raid bosses, items, and quests.

Bonus Reason: Murloc Movies, Leeroy Jenkins, and Chuck Norris in Barrens Chat. You can learn the ways of WoW pop culture.

Go get the Free Trial Now!

If your friends refuse to play World of Warcraft, link them this list, and they should be entering a starting zone in no time. Enjoy!

10 Ways to Make Quick Gold in World of Warcraft

Gold, Gold, Gold. All players of WoW need it. Whether it be items from the AH, tipping for someone to pick-lock your locked boxes, or to spend on repair bills, gold can be a thing of joy, or a thing of despair. Here's a quick list of things you can do to get a some gold in your backpack.

1) Work the Auction House. Treat it like the stock market, buy low, sell high. Look what an item averages normally on the AH. If you find one relatively cheaper, buy and and put it back in at a slightly higher price. I've made about 200 g a day doing this back before Burning Crusade came out.

2) Farm. This may be the oldest and most boring way to acquire gold, but it works. If you can, find mobs that drop both linen and gold (usually humanoids) that die fairly quickly. Try to avoid high traffic places if possible. The easiest way not to go crazy is by having some music on while you farm.

3) Work your professions. You probably have a few exclusive items that people who are a different profession need. Enchanters need rods that only Blacksmiths can make, everyone needs leather for something, etc. Just work on getting items that you know will sell well to other people.

4) Quest in Netherstorm. If you're 70, there's a big chance that you have uncompleted or attempted quests in Netherstorm. Most quests pay out around 12-20 g at level 70.

5) Farm low level instances. If you're an enchanter, SM is your friend. Just kill everything, grab the rares and DE them, then sell the shards in the AH. You can make a ton of money this way.

6) Farm motes. The Elemental Plateau in Nagrand has tons of elementals that you can farm for motes. Everyone needs primal _______. In my experience, the Elemental Plateau is usually packed, Fire Elementals in Skald and those elementals that drop primal mana in Netherstorm are great alternatives. If you're on a PvP server, watch your back.

7) Offer your service to lower levels. Run people through lower instances for a small fee. At this rate, most people at low levels are playing their alts, so their main should have a large amount of money they can give you to run them through something. The money from the lower instance isn't bad either. Not many people do this because of the trust factor, but it's worth a try.

Most of those tips are for higher levels. If you're a lower level, here's a list of possible ways to get some gold.

8) When you start out, pick up 2 gathering professions. In my opinion, herbalism and mining make good money even at low levels. Sell what you gather in the AH, and once you hit 70, you can pick up any other profession you want.

9) Pick up everything from every mob you kill. Vendor trash ads up into a lot of money. Don't be afraid to spend money on bigger bags, the investment will be worth it.

10) Ask higher level guildies for money. Yes, I know, it's begging, but it works sometimes. People are usually happy to part with their gold to help out a new/low level guildie. Just don't do it excessively.

Well, those are my 10 tips. Hope they work out for you. Enjoy.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

The Top 5 Reasons the Wii is SO Hard to Find

If you're like me, you love to get your hands on various different gaming consoles and paraphernalia. The Nintendo Wii has been the hardest to acquire in my experience, ranging from being sold out, to being over priced. Here are my POSSIBLE reasons the Wii is so hard to get a hold of:

1) Nintendo made a good system. Let's face it, the Wii is a good buy for both "hardcore" gamers and people who've never picked up a controller in their life. The Wii Mote is an easy tool, fun to use, and innovative. There's something about being able to do something in real life that will be transitioned into your gaming avatar that make people happy.

2) The price of the Wii is excellent. Though the 360 and PS3 are pushing the limits with new graphical capabilities never before seen on a console, they are charging an arm and a leg for that technology. I don't know about you, but the last time I checked, I don't have $500 in my pocket to burn on a gaming console. The $250 is another good reason that the Wii never stays on store shelves for more than a day.

3) eBayers. Plain and simple, some people have found it a good business to buy a crap load of Wii systems and sell them on eBay for a profit. Economic principles prove that with little supply and high demand, you can make a lot of $$$$ to give people what they want. Damn those wanna be entrepreneurs!

4) It's also speculated that Nintendo themselves are holding back on Wii production. They make it so that they only make enough Wii systems that there are never a stockpile in any given store. It can be the major reason for the low supplies if proven true.

5) Old school gamers are going back to tradition. I know a lot of people that have come back to Nintendo again and again for the simple fact that they have so many classic characters. Samus from Metroid Prime, the Pokemon franchise, and our all time favorite Italian plumber, Mario. Face the facts, if people liked something once, they will go back to it again and again.

The fact of the matter is, Wii systems are in high demand. It can prove frustrating to try to find a Wii that you can get your hands on. At this rate, some people estimate that there will be a Wii drought for another year. "Wii" will have to wait and see where Nintendo goes from here in production. Don't give up hope, sooner or later, you will have your Wii.

Helpful Tips to finding a Wii:

  • Check your local newspaper for store ads daily. Best Buy and Circuit City usually announces when they will have Wii in stock.
  • Make calls. Call local EBgames, Gamestops, and various other video game stores and ask if they have it in stock.
  • Prepare to wake up early if you do find one, because you won't get one past early morning times.
  • Don't give up, search the web if you have to, and if you have the money, just eBay the damn thing.

The Unwritten Laws of WoW, Now Written!

Well, my blog basically got hijacked by WoW, seeing as it's the only thing bringing traffic to it. I decided to continue on the subject, and as I was struggling to get to bed last night, I thought of all the funny subjects I'd come accross while playing World of Warcraft for 3 years.

Here's the list of the Unwritten Laws of World of Warcraft, hope you enjoy the read.

  • There will be no "WoW killer" in the future, too many people have spent hours on end just to give up for another game.
  • Ironforge and Orgrimmar will be laggy to most people during peek hours.
  • Chuck Norris lives in Barrens Chat.
  • 90% of Girls who play WoW play either a female druid or female priest.
  • The last 10% of independents need to conform, cause we all know the healer is a dying breed, both figuratively and in pvp.
  • Leeroy Jenkins had some chicken.
  • Even if your volume is off, murlocs will still go "mrghrlrlrlrlglrlglrlmglrl"
  • The Murloc + Random Movie combination will live on in WoW.
  • Gnomes shouldn't be able to be warriors.
  • There will be at least a couple of posts a day in the forums about OP classes, because for scissors, paper is ok, but rock is OP.
  • Hunters are OP. My Warlock was OP enough, but getting 3 shotted by hunters was annoying.
  • The World.... of Warcraft is overpopulated with UD rogues.
  • Most people who ninja items are rogues.
  • In a fight between Pirates and Ninjas (rogues) in WoW, Ninjas would win, because there are a ton of them, and they can get to level 70, while pirates stay at a lowly 40 range and have to live in Stranglethorn.
  • In a fight between Pirates and Ninjas in the real world, Chuck Norris would win.
  • Ventrilo owns Teamspeak, plain and simple.
  • If you use teamspeak and read that, it means switch to ventrilo.
  • On average, 20% of people AFK in AV.
  • On average, alliance will own AV.
  • Murlocs run fast.
  • The best feature of Wrath of the Lich King are the new dances. Everyone needs a new dance.
  • The worst part of being horde in PvP is getting killed by a gnome warrior with pink hair, then that warrior /lol'n at your corpse.
  • If you're horde, and you go to hillsbrad, you will 100% get your ass ganked by higher levels with no lives.
  • Most people who post nerf threads in forums just hate to admit that they lost to a more superior player.
  • You're only as good as the gear you have in WoW.
  • Blood Elves are hotter than Night Elves.
  • WoW is addictive, and can cause loss of friends, ruined grades, and sometimes even death.
  • Nihilum can kill a new boss ALMOST as fast as George W. Bush can ruin the republican party and U.S. reputation.
  • Male Orc's dance is the best. MC Hammer ftw!
  • People only roll paladins so they can simutamously watch porn and kill a mob.
  • Chuck Norris can do that, and not give up DPS.
  • Getting keyed for Karazhan sucks monkey nuts.
  • Female Dwarfs are fugly beyond belief.
  • If you raid for more than 4 hours a day, you probably hate it.
  • Blizzard is doing a good job of pumping out updates and patches, considering it took them 2 years to release 1.11 for D2.
  • Twink items are waaayyy too expensive.
  • Deathcoil = I win button.
  • World of Warcrack will live on, I'll have children that'll probably be playing it.

If you want me to add something, post a comment and I'll see if I can edit it in. Hope you enjoyed the read. Tell your friends and guildies if you enjoyed it.

Monday, August 6, 2007

WoW Guide: Five Steps to Power Level to 70 in WoW and Kill Your Social Life at the Same Time

So, you didn't follow my 10 easy steps to quit playing this evil, addictive, social life-ending, game...
Well, guess you're here for the long run, so here are five steps to power level yourself to 70, so you can enjoy endless hours of raiding, to the point that it seems more like a job than a game.

1) Say good-bye to your social life. Dump your girlfriend, quit school, and wipe yourself off of the face of the planet. There should be only one thing in your mind: playing World of Warcrack.

2) For the last few hours of your life outside your mom's basement, go to a local super store that sells items in bulk (Costco, Sam's Club, etc.), and buy yourself a two month supply of hot pockets, ramen noodles, and Monster energy drinks. Make sure to save enough money for the occasional fast food dinner.

3) Move everything necessary to that basement of yours; this includes a fridge, microwave, and a toilet. Remember that South Park episode of WoW? Be like Cartmen, except for the 'calling your mom so you can go to the bathroom' part. You'll be living here for quiet a bit, so get comfortable. Make sure to have an alarm clock also, set it to 6 a.m., that way, you can wake up mighty early to begin questing and grinding.

4) Log into WoW, and don't log out until it is absolutely necessary to go to sleep. 6 a.m. to 3 a.m. should be a good time frame to crank out levels. 3 hours of sleep is plenty, and you should eat by the computer. Maximize your time: If you have to go to the bathroom, make it during points of inactivity, like flying to different destinations, running back to your corpse, etc.

5) Stop reading blogs like this, it's a waste of time. You should be out there killing countless mobs, and completing countless quests. You have no time to be surfing the web for useless information. Go get a free leveling guide while you're at it, search Jame's Leveling Guides, they're easy to follow.

At this rate, you'll be 70 in no time. And if you followed the steps, your social life should be in ruins, meaning you now have all the free time to raid/pvp for OMG EPIX! Well, I hope you enjoyed this little guide, now get your ass moving, you ain't gonna accomplish much reading this.

How to Give Up Playing WoW in 10 Easy Steps

This is a complete guide on how to force yourself to completely get rid of World of Warcrack from your lifestyle. Sure, I gave WoW a good review, but I did warn you countless of times not to try it if you like having a social life. Anyways, here's the list if you want your real life friends back.

1) Sell your account. Sure, it's against the Blizzard ToS, but you can still do it, after all, it's their fault you lost countless hours out of your life. You are, after all, selling the time it took you to acquire what ever you have. You'll be driven to get some money for the $15 a month you paid for the game, and after selling your account, you'll have no drive to start all over again. Use mmobay, or similar sites to sell it, stray away form ebay.

2) Uninstall the game. Simple as it sounds, many WoW players find this to be the hardest step. Just seeing your leveling, raiding, and pvping go through your mind in the form of the uninstall completion bar is enough to make an addictive fan go crazy. But go Nike, "Just Do it!"

3) This is where it gets fun. Take your game discs outside, (careful, sun might be out) grab a wooden bat, stick, flaming sword, whatever you can get your hands on, and just smash the colorful discs into pieces. While you do it, make sure to yell out these phrases:

Thanks for ruining my social life!
My GPA is ruined because of you!
My girlfriend dumped me because of you!
EVIL!
I gained 40 pounds in 3 years for this!

(DISCLAIMER: I'm not liable for any damages to you, mentally or physically, as well as your property)

4) Wait till your account sells, grab the money, and go buy something for your girlfriend/boyfriend, or go out with your friends. The best way to stay off of something is to do it in a group after all.

5) Do something productive with your time, keep yourself busy enough to not think about going back to that evil game. Blog. That's what I'm doing.

6) When was the last time you had exercise? Go out and do something healthy. The years of feasting on hot pockets, ramen noodles, and Del Taco couldn't have been too healthy for your body. Play sports and games with your friends, go hiking, or play DDR.

7) World of Warcraft doesn't exsist in your mind anymore. Don't visit the website, don't go on thottbot to see new items, and just block it out from your mind entirely. Get rid of bookmarked leveling guides, item look-ups, and videos. When your WoW friends call you and starts talking about it, hang up.

8) Get rid of Ventrilo. If you were a serious raider, you have it, so now is the time to let go. If you want to talk to old guildies, do it via phone or IM.

9) Get rid of all things that remind you of WoW. Just like addiction to pot, seeing anything related to it can draw you back in. Yes, that include getting rid of downloaded pvp videos, Leeroy Jenkins, probably half your closet of Jinx shirts, and screenshots of boss kills and dancing night elves.

10) What the hell is WoW again?

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Blockbuster Rentals: Overpriced

What the fudge is going on with Blockbuster. I went there today to rent a Wii game and found myself paying $8 for a five, yes, FIVE day rental. Since when did Blockbuster start charging an arm and a leg to rent games? Given I haven't rented a game since the first year of release of the PS2, I guess things have changed dramatically in the rental business.

I'm guessing they're trying to keep up with sites like Gamefly, and the only way they can do it is by over charging. Wow, this may be the last time I rent a game from there.

Think about it, for the same price of renting a game for a month and a half, you can actually buy the game...

How am I supposed to do my "try before buy" approach if it costs this much. Maybe I should rely more on some of my friends to lend me their games. I'm not made of money.

In lighter news, I rented Super Paper Mario, and will have a review of it by the end of the five days. Even though no one reads my blog, at least not yet.

Game Look: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess


A Gamecube port, but more fun to play.

My Story:
I bought this game about a week ago, and it's the game that pushed me to blogging. It cost me around $52 including tax, which totally depleted my gaming fund. Best Buy gave me reward points though, which is cool, I guess.

Review:
Even though this game came out for the Gamecube, I still find it necessary to play on the Wii. The control scheme is fun, having you swing the controller to actually swing Link's sword. I find myself being laughed at by my parents and my brother when playing this game, but hey, I'm having a blast. The story is what you'd expect from a Zelda title, deep and inviting. The game is long. Extremely long. I've had the game for a week and am barely half way through it. There's a lot to explore, side quests, and fishing. Fishing with the Wii Mote is enjoyable, though it does look funny in real life.

It's the latest installment to the Zelda series, so a lot of Nintendo fan boys and gals will enjoy the game no matter what. You just have try it out for yourself to see how fun it truly is.

Most gaming sites give this a perfect 10 out of 10, but I don't. Don't get me wrong, I like the game, but it's not as addictive as previous Zelda classics like Ocarina of Time. It's fun to an extent, but I'm able to let go of the controller to rest rather than play for six hours straight like other games.

Graphics:
Being a Gamecube port, you can't really expect to see the next-gen graphics that the big 3 consoles are capable of. The shadow effects and lush atmospheres are nice, but don't play out to what I believe the Wii is capable of.

Gameplay:
Using the Wii Mote and Nunchuck is really fun. It requires you to actually move a muscle other than your thumbs to play the game! Furthermore, the idea of switching from being a human to wolf form throughout the game gives it a feeling of freshness. Fishing can have you side tracked for hours, trying to collect as many as you can. The mechanics are just innovative and fun.

My Opinion:
This game is great. If you liked previous Zelda games or adventure games in general, then this one is a keeper. If you're like me, and are unsure if it's worth the $52+ dollars, then go ahead and rent or borrow it from your friends to see if it's a game worthy of sitting in your collection.

Saturday, August 4, 2007

Game Look: World of Warcraft


My Story:
I started playing World of Warcraft (WoW) my freshman year of high school. I beta tested for a couple of months and got hooked beyond belief. After playing a season of football, I did nothing with my free time but play the game. After 3 years of a love/hate relationship, I still find myself coming back to this game in time of boredom.

Review:
This game is addictive. Addictive enough that anyone who wishes to have a live should go nowhere near this game. 8 million players world wide should tell you that this game is good. Addictively good. Well, enough of that.

Huge world, inviting story line, and a deep, involved community is what this game is all about. From low level questing, to mid level PvPing ( Player vs. Player), to the massive four to six hour long boss raids, this game will have you hooked. There is a ton of things to explore, and a lot to accomplish.

The game is created by Blizzard, creators of many successful franchises, including Diablo, Diablo II, Starcraft, and the Warcraft Series, which is what WoW is based off of.

The only downside one could have with this game is the $15 a month fee, but in my opinion, it's worth it.

Graphics:
I don't have an over the top computer that could run a military database like the one my brother spent months building, but the graphics are still nice. My four year old Vaio runs the game smoothly, and the actual game servers rarely give you lag. The lush environments and harsh action is displayed beautifully in this game.

Gameplay:
Again, if you don't want to ruin your social life, do not go near this game. The gameplay mechanics are easy to learn, but hard to master. If you play on a Player vs. Player realm, you'll find yourself frustrated time and time again, yet still be enjoying the game. There is sooooo much to do, that you'll find yourself aimlessly wandering from place to place for hours.

The group aspect of the game is immense, and you'll make friends and enemies quickly. At higher levels, groups are essential for larger "Boss" battles and "Raids", which consist of anywhere from 5 to 25 players.

The Virtual to Real Revolution:
With an over the top popular online game, there comes some real money to be made. There are countless gold sellers, power levelers, and item sellers throughout the net that will sell you virtual currency for real, cold, hard cash. This sometimes make it tempting to just go out and have somebody play the game for you, and you'd pay them. Why would you though? If the game is not fun, then don't play it. I've lost many of friends to this, and hopefully you wont turn to this in times of deperation.

My Opinion:
Buy the game, it comes with a 30 day free play time, and trust me, you wont play for only those 30 days. It's so addictive, it's scary. I've recommended the game to friends that I haven't seen for more than 30 min. outside their homes because of it.

No matter what, try it, there's a 5 day trial floating around worldofwarcraft.com, and I'm sure you'll get hooked.

System Look: Wii


Nintendo's Wii is a milestone for the video game industry.

My Story:
It took me about four days of calling all local stores within a twenty-five mile radius to get this thing, so it's not exactly easy to find. I had the $250 burning a hole in my pocket, and this was the only system I was looking forward to. I finally found one at a local Gamestop during opening hours.

Review:
The system is sleek, affordable and enjoyable to the masses. It pulls in many non gamers, including my parents, aunts, uncles, six year old cousins, and guys I hardly hang out with anymore. Its innovative control scheme is fun, and at $250 (being the cheapest of the big 3 consoles out), it's worth it. I have spent countless hours playing with it, finding it hard to stay off virtual bowling with Wii Sports. It plays my old Nintendo Gamecube games, which is a nice add on. The menu system of the console itself is nice, which includes a shopping network where you can use a point system to purchase games from the Nes, Super Nes, and N64. You can also buy an internet channel used to surf the web from the comfort of your sofa. The typing system is time consuming, but easy to master.

Graphics:
The graphical prowess of the Wii has not reached its limit, as many game companies simply port existing games to it instead of building one from the ground up. At the moment, the graphics of current games are just a little above those of the old GCN, PS2, and XBox.

Game Library (as of today):
The Wii has a large number of what some may label "casual games". These are games that are easy to learn and fun to play for short durations. There is an over abundance of mini games, party games, and just plain easy games.

A game worth noting is the Nintendo Exclusive Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. It looks to be a promising game, but it is a Gamecube port, meaning the graphics are not comparable to the capacity of the Wii itself.

In the Future:
The future has a lot in store for the Wii, as shown on E3 2007. It has a lot of gaming favorites, including a new Mario, Metroid, and Super Smash Bros. game in the future. The system is promising, but "hardcore" gamers might stray away from the "childish" games as some call it.

My Opinion:
The Wii has been great. Wii sports is an enjoyable free game that will have you hooked to the system from the beginning. The only hard thing about making the purchase is finding one available near you!

Welcome!

I'm really happy to have finally have started my own blog. It will contain game reviews and my personal opinion on upcoming/existing video games. Hope you find it interesting and useful.