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Video Games
Monday, June 28, 2004
Ladder Reset ?!?!?!
Well its official, the Diablo II expansion ladder is going to be reset.
From the Blizzard website at www.blizzard.com.
quote:
End of a Season
The Diablo II 1.10 Ladder Season 1 will soon come to an end and Blizzard would like to thank all the players—New, Returning and Veteran alike—for making this a great Season. As a special treat to reward the Top Players from around the world, we will be immortalizing the Top 10 Expansion and Expansion Hardcore Characters in each of the 7 Classes on the Blizzard website. That’s 140 players from each Realm!Season 1 Ladder Characters will be moved to their own 1.10+ population when the season ends. Be sure to check back here for details on future Ladder Seasons.
This will bring and end to season one of the ladder, which has been running since the release of the 1.10 patch back on October 28th, 2003. Blizzard says that they will be placing the current ladder characters in their own season one population separate from the rest. This is a dumb move in my opinion and I believe that they should be placed in the non-ladder realm with the rest of the characters. It is bad enough that we have a ladder and non-ladder but then we will have separate seasons of ladder, in the following year or two we are talking about having all of the players on b.net divided amongst 4 or even 5 different sections per realm.
However if we can just get past the loss of our characters and the horrible waste of our time the reset isn’t really all that bad. I know that in the past month or so the dupes on USEast were out of control. Andy Bot killed the value of the Soj, trade hacks were ripping people off and numerous other programs were tearing apart this supposable “hack” free game. The reset will bring everyone back on the same playing level but it wont last long. The programs along with new ones will still be there with the reset. They really should take the time and release another quick patch.
I only wish I had just a little more time to get a character on the ladder, I have a level 95 sorceress that’s a little over 50 million exp away from being number 1000 L. But hey, all I can say is good luck to all of you in the next ladder season, hopefully you will be one of those 140 characters that will get immortalized next time!
on 06/28/2004 at 01:46 PM
Thursday, June 24, 2004
PvP Elemental Druid Guide
The Elemental druid is probably one of the most powerful dueling classes out there for Diablo II: LOD but only when properly built. Some of the reasons they are so powerful are as follows. They have an amazing cyclone armor that allows you to take a beating from even the most powerful elemental characters including other druids. Their Hurricane provides excellent defense against close melee attacks. Their oak sage provides a great increase in life and an extra target for those pesky arrows you might encounter.
However like any character they have many drawbacks. Without the ability to teleport they are very vulnerable. No way to quickly jump on top of an enemy or to flee when necessary. They also suffer from a lack of range. Quick fireball sorcs, bowzons, hammerdins and necros will be able to keep out of your attack range while they attack you.
--STATS--
Strength: 30-100 *much higher if you don’t have enigma*
Dexterity: 150 base
Vitality: 250 base
Energy: 20 base
--SKILLS--
Elemental
Arctic Blast-1
Cyclone Armor-20
Twister-20
Tornado-20
Hurricane-20
Shape Shift
None
Summon
Oak sage-20
--EQUIPMENT--
Helms
Shako
Rare skills helm
Jala’s
Nightwing’s Veil
Armor
Enigma
Vipermagi
Weapon
Hoto
Earthshaker
Earth Shifter *yuck*
Belt
Arachnidmesh
Gloomstrap
Gloves
Magefist
Trangs Gloves
Frostburn
Rings
Sojs
Bks
Casting Rings
Whisp
Amulets
Mara’s
Highlords
Seraphs Hymn
+3 Ele Ammy
Charms
Anni
Ele gc
Life sc
Other Items
Call To Arms
--STRATEGY--
Trap Assassins- Get a whisper ring and Tgods, recast cyclone armor alot
FOH Paladins- Get a whisper ring and Tgods, recast cyclone armor alot
PnB Necros- Tele on top of them before they manage to fill the screen w/ spirits
Poison Necros- Make sure you have way over max poison resist
Charge Strike Zons- Get a whisper ring and Tgods, recast cyclone armor alot
Monday, March 15, 2004
Next Gen Console Rant and Pimping a Contest
Well I had planned to post a rant about this piece of trash article over at BBC. The article is claiming Sony has won the next generation console wars with their PS3. Sad thing is we're still around 2 years from Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo release their next generation consoles! Proclaiming a winner before anyone has even released any hardware is a moronic joke. In this industry 2 years is enough time for a company to go from being top dog to being in the doghouse. I mean really, while Sony might look like it will be a winner who knows what could happen. Some horrible scandal could surface and everyone would end up hating Sony in 2 years and sales end up tanking on the PS3. I think we need to all just sit back and wait to see where we are at release times.Ok I guess I did get to do a rant on it after all!
Anyhoo, I wanted to give a shout out for a contest some buds are holding. The fine fellows of Snackbar Games are holding a Resident Evil: Outbreak Contest. The winner gets a limited edition Resident Evil: Outbreak survival pack that contains a canteen and mask. I'll admit it is disappointing that you're not even getting a video game or heck even a copy of the Resident Evil movie. Still go check it out and sign up since they could use the traffic!
on 03/15/2004 at 06:14 PM
Monday, March 08, 2004
Sick of lawsuit happy people
Over at the Penny Arcade forums there’s a discussion over a lawsuit against Nintendo. Basically, some dumb hick family from Baton Rouge, Louisiana is suing claiming Nintendo isn’t doing enough to protect people from having seizures.
It’s a well-known fact that the flashing from TVs while playing video games can cause people with epilepsy to have seizures. However, the family isn’t just going after a quick buck. They’re trying to get Nintendo to put onscreen warnings on games, include some sort of seizure ranking system like the ESRB rating system, and force Nintendo to fund a nationwide campaign to inform the public about video games and seizures.
Umm… Ok, you freaking morons drive me nuts. I think Nintendo does more than enough to warn about seizures.
Every Gamecube box comes with two manuals. The first is a small precautions booklet that on the first page has a large section on seizure warnings. The other is the main instruction booklet and once again the first page has a large section on seizures.
On top of that, every game has seizure warnings. On the back of every game case is a warning that says “WARNING: People who are photosensitive (have had seizures induced by flashing lights or patterns) should not play video games without first seeing a doctor.” Then the instruction booklet has the same warnings as the hardware manuals on the first page. And if that isn’t enough Nintendo even includes a special Health and Safety booklet that, you guessed it, has a big section on seizures!
Ladies and gentlemen I ask you is that not enough? If you just bought a new Gamecube and a single game to go with it you will be giving 4 pieces of printed literature and 1 visible warning right on the package of possible seizures from playing video game.
Maybe it’s just that I was raised in the country by a conservative family. If something bad happens to me and it’s because I was doing something stupid I realize I screwed up and that I’ve learned a lesson. I remember not to do the same thing again. If something happens that’s not of my doing I find out what happen and learn how to fix it.
If I were playing a video game and had a seizure I’d go to a doctor and find out what’s wrong. Then I’d say, “I guess I better not play video games again.” Now day’s people are so lawsuit happy the first thing they think is “how can I make money from this?”
I bet this stupid family dialed their lawyer before their retarded kid had even finished seizing. The poor kid probably had his eyes rolled back into his skull, choking on his tongue and foaming at the mouth and their first reaction was to hit the speed-dial for a lawyer. Then once they were sure they could sue they got around to dialing 911.
These people make me sick! Of course big companies just settle since it’s easier than fighting but I wish Nintendo would have fought. It would be worth blowing millions to win this case. If they pulled the big W it could start the change of tide for ludicrous lawsuits. Getting courts to start throwing out cases for people trying to sue for their incompetence is needed badly.
Personally, I’m about to start a secret group that goes out and eliminates stupid people. Get a few black helicopters and ex-military types. When we hear about people like this just fly out and remove the people from their homes. Take them to an undisclosed location and brainwash them. Drop them back home with instructions to publicly admit their scum, were just trying to make a quick buck and were very sorry for bothering everyone.
After a few reports of that happening it should scare people from thinking about suing so readily.
Thursday, February 26, 2004
How to Get Your Woman to Game
I found this funny but intriguing article about getting your girlfriend/wife/etc to play video games with you at Gaming Nexus. At first I thought it was going to be just sort of a joke article about girls and gaming but it turns out not to be. It turns out to be a very good article designed specifically to explain the dos and don'ts to guys.The article covers just about everything a guy should think about when trying to get his girlfriend/wife/etc to join him in playing video games. From the basics like making sure she's comfortable with the controllers by giving her the best one you have to choosing games that will be easy to understand and play. These are thinks you would expect to be logical but it's nice to point it out. There's nothing worse than giving her the crappy controller that has buttons that stick or making her play a complex game that expects the player to manage lots of tasks at once.
It suggests you pick games that will appeal to her and that's another obvious duh! It specifically mentions games such as Animal Crossing, The Sims and Dance Dance Revolution. I would agree these make good starting games that would appeal to many females. They don't require fast reflexes or complex button usages. More importantly they're fun to play because you can relate to them. Games like Animal Crossing and The Sims are really very much like playing virtual dolls. While at first it may sound insulting to make a grown up women play dolls the games are more complex than you think and can be quite addicting. I'm not embarrassed to admit I like playing Animal Crossing. It's a lot of fun. You interact with animals by talking to them, playing games and writing letters. You collect items, go fishing, hunt bugs, dig up fossils, and more. Best of all the game uses a real time clock so the game matches the real world. It changes seasons in the game the same as the real world. So right now in my town it's covered in snow and boring. In another month it'll start to get brighter and there will be new things to do.
The article also covers other things like sharing your memory card with her. Don't be selfish and let her save games and characters on your card.
quote:
They'll want to feel like their place in your life is secure, gaming included. That?s why you need to go out of your way to include them in your gaming experience, to let them know that their presence still remains even when they?re not around.
Ok, I have to sorta disagree with this one. All right, I see the point he's trying to make but at the same time there's the issue of accidents like her erasing you're save games or characters. When you spend weeks working on a game it sucks to loose all that work. Sure the whole sharing thing sounds good but I think the opposite could be just as true. Going out and buying a card just for her might seem like a thoughtful gift. It's saying "You're not just a second rate player that gets to only save wherever I let you. I care enough to give you your own memory card to use as you want". Well that's what I think.
Finally it talks about sharing your games and even *gasp* your system with her. Letting her borrow the system for a while to play at her home. This is definitely a good thing. Not only does it show her you're willing to let her borrow your systems but it gives a good excuse to spend time at her place. She won't feel like she has to always come over to your messy place because you want to play games. Then, because you're at her place it lets her feel like she's in control and can choose the game or even decided not to play. Although as a guy you don't want that, the gesture of power giving makes her feel good.
So that's enough of my ramblings. Go read the article because I'm sure you'll find it very good.
Wednesday, November 05, 2003
First looks at Sony PSP handheld
Gamespot is reporting that Sony released some concept art of what their PSP handless game device might look like.They've been pretty quite about the device but with the specs they've released it should be interesting to see how they work it all out. I've said it before and I'll say it again. With the specs it's easy to admit it could be a very powerful contender in the portable game arena. However, at the same time with those specs you wonder how they'll pull it off. Huge screen, spinning media disc, 2 333MHz cpus (one cpu core and one media engine), 166MHz graphics chip, 166MHz sound chip, MPEG4 decoder, 802.11 Wi-Fi lan, IrDA port, USB 2.0, Memory Stick, and some sort of Expansion port all to be run off a single Lithium Ion Battery!
After you see those specs you have 3 things going through your mind.
1) That's a lot of hardware to be powering off a single Lithium Ion Battery!
2) How are you going to fit all that stuff into a handheld device that will be light and comfortable to hold?
3) Handheld systems have to be cheap. I'd say you have to stay around $200.00(USD) at release to be viable, with the ultimate goal to drop to the $99.00(USD) range to compete head to head with Nintendo's Gameboy. How can they afford all that stuff and stay in that budget range?
Sunday, November 02, 2003
Been playing Diablo2 all weekend
Well I finally gained enough willpower to step out of the world of Diablo 2 for a while. Been playing all day yesterday and today on Battle.net. The new ladder is very hard to play.I have a level 21 Necromancer and just finally got to act 3 (out of 5) in normal difficulty. I have to hand it to the guys at Blizzard. They sure did a good job with the new patch. The game is a lot more tough to play. Which to some may sound bad but to fans of the game it's great!
It's not uncommon for a player in a single day to play through all 3 difficulties (normal, nightmare, hell) and be level 50+. Spend another week or so doing level up runs in certain areas and you can have a level 80-90 character. It just go so easy to create high level characters that people quit playing the actual game. It became more about trading and obtaining all the most sought after weapons and items.
So anyways with the new patch the ability to rush through and make a high level character is almost completely removed. People have to actually play the game again and it's great!
Oh no! Some friends just IMed me and asked if I wanted to play till we get to act 4. I Guess I have nothing else to do!
I'm so weak!