I am warning everyone right now, this is a nerd post. If you are not a nerd, skip it.
I have some interesting gaming developments to report.
Firstly, Quake 4 is a fun game. What kills me? On my new dual 64 bit system, with a a gig of 400mhz ram and a 256 meg Nvidia card, the game STILL lags at some places. Further, multiplayer is like playing quake 3 on a p400 with a 16m video card (remember those days)?.
Dragonshard is a helluva game, but I don’t have the time to devote to it, anymore than I do to WOW (whose upcoming expansion looks off the hook). It is probably the most interesting combo of RTS/RPG I have ever played. I am kinda disappointed in the build tree, but like the native imbalance in the races. Game balance pisses me off.
I have not used my PSP much lately, been reading too much. I am happy to report that both Dynasty Warriors and Medieval Resurrection are good games for it. Looking forward to getting hold of Star Wars Battlefront II and the new RPG that just came out Legend of Heroes, A Tear of Vermilion. Sword of Vermilion was one of my favorite RPG consoles on the old Sega (Aside from the Phantasy Star series), so I have high hopes for this one. The one shot I took at LOTR Tactics – and it seems most of the reviewers I trust have very similar opinions.
So what have I settled on for my obsession of the moment? Civ4. Two words for you…holy fuck. If you have ever played and loved a turn based strategy game, you will enjoy this. I haven’t beaten it on deity difficulty with 7 opponents yet. That hard. Why, you ask, am I playing Civ4 instead of D&D Online? Well, mostly, because D&D Online sucks. It is pretty, and it moves along, with a very nice XP/Quest meter thing. But, ultimately, when you turn D20 rules into WOW play rate, it leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Spellpoints? In D&D? Yeah, I know it is an alternate rule set. Fuck you and your lazy programmers. No crafting? No tradeskills at all? Yeaaaah, I’ll be waiting for NWN2, thanks. This is like an online version of Temple of Elemental Evil meets Everquest2.
Lastly, and most importantly, there have been murmurs amongst the troops for some dice chucking.
It has been a while for me.
I will put on the hat again though, even have a few ideas.
So, y’all get a poll:
Replies have been screened, so if you want to be a nerd, and hide if from the rest of the world, you can. If you have an interest, let me know, even if you haven’t gamed with me before. I can offer nerd credentials that I am a better-than-O.K.-GM.
