Google

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.