e-AAGH.net's Alphablog

Ok, I've put more time into the the Public Test Realm, and I've got a few more opinions on it. For one, I'm a fan of the new Stormwind harbor, but it has some issues. For one, there's nothing to stop the Horde from sailing right in to Stormwind from Northrend. That seems like a design flaw, to me. Secondly, when you first arrive at the harbor from the city, you're faced with what looks like the way down, but no - it's a sheer drop to your death! Seriously, there needs to be a sign or something there, telling you to go around the small, almost hidden ramps to the sides. Sheesh.

Secondly, I've re-specced to retribution from holy on my paladin main on my main server, so I did the same on the PTR, to great success. I rolled through Stranglethorn Vale at level 42 (2 levels behind my real avatar), slaying anything that got in my way with no fear. I took on lvl 44-45 mobs with impunity, and only stopped when my bags filled up with loot. Myself and another lvl. 42 retribution-specced paladin tore up a whole mess of lvl 44+ mobs in an old ruin without breaking a sweat. Does this mean that retadins are overpowered? Not in my eyes. It just means that we've finally caught up to the rest of the pack. I can't handle mobs at my own level very well on my main server, but here I was able to solo higher level mobs. Not bad.

Lastly, I'm a huge fan of the graphical improvements they've made, particularly with the lighting, or more specifically, the shadows. The dappled light effect coming through the trees down in Stranglethorn is beautiful, and reminds me allot of Fable, in a good way. I'm seeing shadows of birds flying overhead, too. It's gorgeous.  I hope to see further improvements made along these lines someday in the future.

On a related note, I'm working on a webcomic in the vein of Gamespy's Flintlocke comics, called Gavelier's World of Warcraft. Gavelier is the paladin I was talking about above, and here he goes on adventures with a couple of low-level characters. I hope everyone enjoys it. Later, all.

I posted long ago in my Investigative Gaming article that I'm not the target audience of World of Warcraft. Well, in spite of that, I'm still playing WoW to this day, and I'm looking forward to Wrath of the Litch King in November, as well as the upcoming 3.0.2 patch due out 'soon.' Speaking of the patch, I'm tooling around on the Public Test Realm for the new patch with Gavelier, my human paladin main, and I like some of the changes. For one, I got Gav a haircut and a shave, which he badly needed. Secondly, I like the new three-judgement system, because it allows me to do my paladin's seal's damage as well as either regenerating health, mana, or preventing my foe from fleeing. It's always been frustrating that I had to forgo my damage-dealing seals for the one that prevents my enemy from fleeing, but that's no longer the issue. I can also get the Blessing of Kings maxed out with just six points or so in the Protection skill tree, so I can have that power while still staying Retribution spec. I also like the achievements and stat-keeping feature. I'm a numbers-nut, what can I say?

In other news, I've got a problem with Spore: I can't stop playing long enough to review it. More specifically, I'll hop in to take some screenshots for my review, get distracted, and an hour or so later I log out, without the pix I logged in to get. It's like, "oh, I'll just get those pics quick and... " *hours later* "... dammit!" lol Oh well, I may have to resort to stock screenies just to get the review up.

Further off into 'WTF' land, when my computer was being rebuilt with the new PSU and GPU, some dumbass forgot to plug the power into my two DVD drives. So now, I'm effectively limited to whatever doesn't need a disc to play. *sigh* Nothing ever goes smoothly around here. On a related note, did everyone read my review of the 8800GT on e-AAGH.net? I'm proud of my third hardware review.

Lastly, I - in the last month -  went through and totally rebuilt e-AAGH.net's infrastructure. It's now more stable, faster-loading, and you can link to or tab individual articles without losing the control and banner bars. It took a couple of hours, but it was definitely worth it. Lemme know if anyone finds any glitches. Later, all.

Hey all. Sorry for the lack of updates, both to the site and my blog, but I've been rebuilding my gaming rig a little bit, going to a beefier power supply and a new XFX GeForce 8800GT instead of my old Radeon HD 2600XT. The change is amazing, and I've gained more then 3000 3DMarks (in 3DMark05) over my old card, running the tests at my monitor's max res (1440x900). The new PSU was needed partially because it had a PCI-e adaptor on it. As a side note, I had to rearrange the inside of my system to make the 8800GT fit, and it's not even a huge card at under 9 inches. Don't buy one of these things for a mid-tower (like I have) without a backup plan! lol

As for performance, most Steam titles (Half-Life 2, Portal) run like glass with all the eye candy and image enhancements turned up and I can't max Doom 3 out enough to make the card sweat. All I can say is, nice. I'm going to install the Crysis demo later to see if it still runs like a slide show the way it did prior to the upgrade.

On another subject, I'm having a great time with Spore. It's not a very deep game, but it's allot of fun. My favorite stage is the Creature phase, personally. I'll have a review up soon.

Did anyone notice the new article on e-AAGH.net? I'm posting an ongoing story of my Madden 09 superstar, running back Bud Daniel. He's currently on the 49ers, and running behind Daunte Culpepper (now that he's healthy again). I'm looking forward to updating it again, as I'm quite proud of the article. Here's a pic preview from the next chapter.

Look forward to it!

I got Madden NFL 09's 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition yesterday. I would have posted this yesterday, but I spent the whole day playing Madden and NFL Head Coach 09. I'll have the review up ASAP, but for now, here's some quick observations

Madden is a blast, and I love the cyber-player models that come with the CE. I remember the ads that they're based on really well. In fact, I remember being so impressed that I spent weeks worth of school lunch periods trying to draw them from magazines. The gameplay is very solid as well, and I really think the running and tackling are better then last year.

Head Coach is, to be blunt, slow. I spent over an hour yesterday afternoon and never saw the field. I signed a ton of players (Isaac Bruce on the Browns?), wasted my cap space, and flubbed the draft, but I'm yet to even get to a practice. Seriously, it may be realistic, but sometimes realistic needs to take a backseat to fun.

I'll have my reviews up on e-AAGH.net as soon as I can.

I found this neat program that allows you to make your desktop 3D so you can interact with your icons and the like. It's called Real Desktop, and it has a free version entitled Real Desktop Lite that I'm playing with. HERE is what my desktop looks like ATM. It's fun, as you can pick up and move your icons all over the place, and the names come up as you hover over them. It's not real fancy, but I think it's kinda spiffy. Later, all.

How do all of the above subjects correlate to one another? Easy.

World of Warcraft recently launched it's 2.4.3 patch, which lowered the level requirement for mounts from 40 to 30 and slashed the price for riding training almost in half. What I've found is that this has had an adverse effect on the economy. My sales on the Auction House have floundered since the patch, with very little of any expense selling. My Nefarious Buckler I got for killing Nefaru in Duskwood? I can't sell it for 50 silver! A stack of 20 iron bars - which usually go for several gold for me - won't sell for one 'g'.

My theory is that the mount craze has hurt the economy. I believe it'll recover, but for now most money is being put towards mounts by levels 30-40 characters, which is who I'm primarily marketing to (being lvl. 39 myself, those are the level items I gather).

The best solution, I guess, is to wait it out. Wait until either most of the level 30+ characters get their mounts or I out-level that particular market. Oh well. Wish me luck!

Ok, folks, it's been awhile, but I've been busy. Beta is back in town and we've been working on reviews and updates to come. I've been delving into the PC version of Mass Effect lately, and it has surprised me greatly. My review is forthcoming.

My pre-order (and everyone else's in North America, I presume) of the Spore Creature Creator has been delayed a day and a half (from midnight on the 17th to 10:00 AM on the 18th). I am royally miffed. I was looking forward to that! I hope the leaked trial version didn't have anything to do with it, and I fully expect the demo to release tomorrow as planned.

You may have noticed I've added yet another sub-site to e-AAGH.net, the SporeZone. It's my little hub for my Spore-related rants and updates. I'll be putting my best creatures up for show there, and it'll get constant updates on my worlds once Spore launches in full on September 7th.

On a last note, Beta kicks my butt in Mario Kart Wii, and yes, I'm grumpy about it. Alphasim out.

Hey all. I've gotten my Xbox 360 back, just in time for GTA4! In fact, I'm already into the game (I got it as a 'welcome back' present for my 360), and the game lives up to the hype. The review's going to be pretty late since this is such a huge game, so just be patient.

On another note, I'm also reviewing Mario Kart Wii, and that too impresses. There are some things that don't stand up really well, but as a whole I'm fairly happy. I can't wait for Beta to get back in town so I can race her. Hopefully I'll get Omega over later today for a few rounds of Mario Kart and some GTA carnage. Alphasim out.

I've got to point something out here; I'm finding out more and more that I may not be the biggest Wii fan there is. Granted, I love the games (Mario Galaxy got the 2007 e-AAGH.net GOTY, after all), and I love the innovation, but I'm not down with the controls. I know most of this is my problem, but I'm still grumpy about it. Here's the deal: I'm so conditioned to using the traditional control layout of an Xbox 360 or a PS2 or even an SNES, that the Wii controls are hard for me. I can't have that moment of trippy-transcendent bliss (yes, I said trippy) like I had playing Zelda: Wind Waker on the Gamecube when I was fighting the Forest Haven dungeon's boss at way-to-late at night, 2/3rds asleep, and still kicking it's ass (I play way too many games in the wee hours of the morning). The Wii's Twilight Princess isn't growing on me the same way because I'm too focused on the controls. Well, fighting them is more like it. I'm not comfortable with the Wii-mote/nunchuck layout yet, and my gaming setup certainly doesn't help things. My systems are in my living room, and it's not very big. The couch is on one wall, the TV's on another, and there's less then 5 feet between them. My set is a 27" Samsung HDTV with the Wii's sensor bar on top of it. I cannot get things any more spread out, period. Therefore, I have serious trouble with games that require I keep that stupid pointer on the damn screen - which is most games. Too often I'm fussing with it, trying to reconnect with the sensor bar after going off screen. I'm told that a larger distance between me and the sensor bar would help things, but as I've said, that's not possible the way things are set up right now. No, I'm not going to stop reviewing Wii games, and I'm still going to keep playing until I get it right. I just wanted to vent a little. Does anyone else have this problem?

Hey all. My Xbox 360 died the other day, and is going to have to go back to Microsoft for repairs. This means that I'll have to delay reviewing anything 360 for a little while (this includes GTA 4). In other news, I'm looking forward to playing Mario Kart Wii, since I've played all the other incarnations except Mario Kart Super Circuit for the Gameboy Advance. Mario Kart DS is my favorite so far, and I know Beta favors Double Dash on the 'cube. I hope the Wii version can live up to it's predecessors.

Going back to my dead Xbox, I did get enough time in to review MLB 2k8 before the Red Ring o' Death reared it's demonic head, so look for that review in the next day or two. BTW, I'm happy to report that my vendetta against the WoW Armory has been canceled; they finally added my characters. I'm happy now. Shallow, but happy. Alphasim out.

In my NBA Live 08 review for the PC, I said that EA Sports doesn't care anymore. Now, it's official: along with Madden NFL 09 for PC, EA has canceled NBA Live 09 on PC. I guess the philosophy is, if you can't make money releasing cheap crap, don't bother at all. I'm hopeful that this means that Live and Madden come back in 2010 with improved models based on the next-gen games, but that's a bit of a stretch. My favorite EA Sports game since the turn of the century was easily MVP Baseball, which was a complete overhaul of the aging and failing Triple Play series. I can dream that they're considering the same for Live, but I doubt it.

BTW, I still stand by my statement I made back when EA Sports and 2K Sports were jockeying for exclusive sport licenses: They both screwed up. EA Sports' best game at the time was it's MVP Baseball series, and 2K made the NFL 2K series, which I loved. So what did they do? The dumbasses bought the opposite licenses. At the time, the Madden series was is a lull, and 2K still hasn't made a baseball game as fun as EA's MVP series. Sometimes I wonder who makes these stupid decisions. (Yes, I know they bought the licenses they did to kill the other companies' series, but still, it's a pretty lousy situation for us gamers)

I don't read much in the way of gaming mags these days. I have an archive of periodicals from 1993 through 2003, but since then I've only been a regular reader of two magazines: Game Informer and Computer Gaming World, more recently known as Games for Windows: The Magazine. Now, though, GFW is done. Ziff Davis, the publishing house for the mag, is pulling the plug, and I'm heartbroken. I have every issue since 2004 and I looked forward to getting a new one every month. Now, my mailbox is going to be empty but for bills and cheap mass-mailers. Farewell, GFW, we barely new ye.

In a more positive light, 1Up is going to carry on with the GFW editors and try to maximize their PC coverage on a GFW online page. It's not the same thing, but it'll have to do, I guess.

Next in line is a question I recently posed to Betasim. I asked her to compare her hours of playing Morrowind to Oblivion, and decide which one she remembers more fondly. I'm not asking about which is the better game, just which one she looks back on with better memories. For me, it's Morrowind, for reasons I'm not going to go into right now (too many details). Now, I'm asking this of all those reading this blog: which do you remember more, Morrowind, Oblivion, or perhaps Arena or Daggerfall? Which Elder Scrolls game was your favorite? Reply in your comments here. I'd love to hear from you! Alphasim out.

Ok, I've finally found out what's missing from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I think that when you play on the retro stages (Donkey Kong's 75m and Mario Bros) that your fighters should be represented as 2D, 8-bit-esque sprites. That would be so over-the-top awesome!

In other news, I'm getting miffed with my WoW characters not showing up on the World of Warcraft Armory page. My main server isn't on the Armory period, but my alternate server is, and none of my level 10-plus avatars show up. I'm getting quite frustrated.

BTW, there's a new poll on e-AAGH.net, asking about your visiting habits, so be sure to stop by and add your two cents. Later, all.

Well, the Cleveland  Indians - my hometown team - won their home opener, albeit barely, over their rival Chicago White Sox this afternoon. The season is afoot! On that subject, I hope to review MLB 2K8 before long. Of course, the Tribe is jinxed already. Peter Gammons of ESPN picked them to win the World Series, which means they probably won't make the playoffs. Oh well.

I've posted my Super Smash Bros. Brawl review on e-AAGH.net, so be sure to check that out. That game flat-out rocks, and is one of the best games on the Wii.

Later, all.

I picked up Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii the instant I could, about two days after launch. I love this game, and have been delaying my review for e-AAGH.net for two reasons. One is that I want to be thorough, but more to the point, I have to stop playing to review it. However, it has led to some great moments already.

In the Subspace Emissary mode, which is cool in and of itself, giant bombs are set off my two ROBs opening an orb-shaped capsule. ROB, of course, is the infamous Trojan horse of the NES, used to market it when stores didn't want anything to do with video games after the crash. Betasim embarrassed me by asking who ROB was. The best part, though, was a relative walking through the room and saying, "Johnny 5?!" The room burst into laughter at that point, and I couldn't help but quote Short Circuit whenever ROB was on screen. "No disassemble! Number 5 alive!" Funny as hell.

In other news, I'm going to have to prolong my Investigative Gaming article for another issue or so since I've recently dived into the World of Warcraft expansion, Burning Crusade. My first BC chara, Gav the Draenei paladin, is up to level 10 after about four to five hours of casual play, and I'm going to roll a Blood Elf or two soon to complete my BC research. Beta said that the article series has potential but I don't feel I've got a grasp of it yet. Look for more in the future.

As always, stop by e-AAGH.net for my latest news and reviews.

Well, anyone who's been to e-AAGH.net and checked my profile (all two of you) knows I've had a running blog I was hosting. It's become rather a chore to update, so I've gone this route. I hope to communicate better this way. Here's hoping!