And this autumn also brings lots of gaming! I know I haven’t been very frequent in updating, but it’s mainly because I’ve been busy gaming. Pokémon captured me more than I thought, so I look forward to picking up my copy of Diamond again and trying to finish it. And of course I need to work on my badges and Pokédex in SoulSilver. But I shouldn’t forget what convinced me to buy a Wii, Donkey Kong and Kirby! Donkey Kong will be an amazing trip down memory lane and the Kirby game looks simple but innovative, the reason why I love Nintendo games so much.

Autumn, bring it on!

My first impression was the cheesy beginning and the lack of depth in the story. I’ve simply forgot how story isn’t important in the Mario games, I’ve played too many RPGs lately. It struck me when I started playing Pokemon too, but I didn’t expect much from Pokemon since it has never had a compelling story. I remembered older Mario games as having a story, but I think my memory has made them better than they were :P

Story aside, it’s a really fun game. So far, I’ve only played world 1 and 2 and I’ve done so with ease. Of course, Bowser in world 2 got me really angry, but I finished the level eventually :) I really like the cuteness and the silliness, it’s part of what a Mario game should be. The controls are a bit weird to get used to, especially since it’s my first own Wii game and I’ve not played Galaxy 1 much. I keep spinning in weird places and the small planets are always hard to navigate. But sometimes it’s the weirdness that makes the game, how you need to combine weird movement with the environment to be able to finish a level.

All in all, I think it was a game for me, although I don’t expect me to finish the “last boss”. I never do :)

In any case, the remake is quite true to the original, but as I said before, the graphics are better and it’s rebalanced too. They also introduced a new Safari Zone, at least I can’t remember such a cool system for Silver. It’s huge and has customizable areas, kind of. One of the things I enjoy the most in the games is catching new Pokemon, so Safari Zone is naturally one of my favourite areas :)

So far, I’ve played through most of Johto. Between Johto and Kanto there’s the Elite Four, and I’m not looking forward to it. It has been stopping me in the last two or three Pokemon games, I just don’t feel like training as much as I need to in order to win. But this time I might :)

If you’ve not played Pokemon in a while, or haven’t tried at all, I would definitely recommend getting Heartgold or Soulsilver!

First, my sister bought me Pokemon Soulsilver. Silver was and still is my favourite Pokemon game, so I’m really enjoying playing it again. The graphics are nicely remade, staying true to the Pokemon theme but still a bit more colorful and pretty than the original. I think they’ve balanced it slightly too, it feels even more streamlined. I’ll write more in Pokemon later :)

Secondly, I’ve bought a Wii. Since I worked a lot this spring, I got a quite nice pay. So I decided I deserved something fun and a black Wii was my decision. It came in a bundle with the two sports games plus Super Mario Galaxy 2. I thought Galaxy might be too much of an adventure game for me, but I really enjoy it so far :)

Yay games!

The first article detailing a profession described the elementalist. A well known profession for GW enthusiasts and a standard in role playing games. That’s one negative right there. There’s nothing new and exciting about the elementalist, it is a mage attuned to elements of nature, in this case fire, air, earth and water. Just like GW1. It is disappointing that the elementalist profession hasn’t evolved in over 250 years, as one would imagine Asura elementalists would be common, and the Asura seem to be very keen on development and experimenting. How does this work, lorewise? Are the elements the same they have always been, is that it? We can’t know ANet’s reasons (at least not at this time) but it is odd.

What is even more odd is how the use of elements has not changed a single bit, and even the skill names and functions are similar. Fire is high power, area of effect, while water is movement control… Where did I hear this before? In every role playing game you say? Of course, that could be called a reason to stay with it. I call it a bad reason, because there is nothing stopping you from being innovative. I don’t want to “know” how to play the elementalist right from the start, I want to learn.

What is added though, is the effect your attunement has to your surroundings. A very nice detail, showing how attuned you are to the element, but it is not enough to kill the feeling of boredom I get when reading about the elementalist. Oh, and the lack of clothes for the human female while the male character gets a robe is very original.

ArenaNet, I’m not impressed. Bring on some more interesting professions now.

On a less negative note, some links

• The Elementalist – Guild Wars 2 site
• Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2: Background and skills – my post
• Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2: Weapons and combat – my post

The first article, which mainly detailed the skill system, also discussed some parts of the combat system, mainly skill effects and how they interact with eachother. What I found really interesting is the idea of putting up a fire wall, and then shoot your projectiles through this fire wall. Tadaa, burning projectiles. This makes the magic feel more real, even though I’m sure your own team will never be affected by the wall. This example is unfortunately repeated throughout both articles, so we never get to see other versions of this environmental combat change, but I trust ArenaNet to have nice surprises in store for us.

What is also very positive is the goal that the area of effect of a skill should be visually obvious, and every skill should be identifiable by it’s visual animation. GW1 had some issues, mainly with area of effect, where you had to learn exactly how many millimeters of your aggro bubble each skill covered. Of course, the visual effects will also be appealing because they are beautiful, but every new game strives to be more beautiful than those before, so the actual function of the visuals is more interesting. A skill effect in GW2 will be more than a pretty animation, it seems, and I think it’s a good… I shouldn’t say change, but move.

The second article gives more detail about the weapon types available in GW2. Included are of course the standard axes, hammers, swords, bows and staves. What stands out though is the inclusion of more “modern” type weapons like pistols and rifles. I’m not sure this is a good move, but it’s too early to say. Bringing in modern weapons immediately brings the game closer to our world, and a bit out of the fantasy realm, at least in my book. Guild Wars is many things, and it has a really nice story, but I have never considered it a game or universe where human modern weapons would fit. The development is mainly driven by the Charr and the Asura, while the humans are engaged in a civil war. Why would these non-humans develop rifles, and decidedly human invention? While I’m sceptical, it might also add variation and fun elements to the game, and the lore and explanations behind the use of guns might be better than I expect.

Even more intriguing is the use of environmental weapons. This is nothing new of course, but it seems to have been developed from GW1′s quite uninteresting carrying of a magic torch (and similar) to actual weapons, and the possibility of several uses for each item. I imagine being able to infuse magic onto an item as an elementalist and then being able to use this item in combat, and this sounds interesting! As long as we don’t need to buy stones by the hundreds at merchants to power the best elementalist skill, like ammunition.

In conclusion, I feel a lot more positive about the weapons and combat than about the skill system, even though the guns cloud the sky a little. I think ArenaNet are heading in the right general direction here. :)

Links

• GW and GW2: Background and skills – my post
• Combat: Skills – part 1, GW2 official site
• Combat: Weapons, professions and races – part 2, GW2 official site

As I loved Guild Wars, naturally this campaign has sparked my interest. We have talked about, longed for and discussed Guild Wars 2 for ages, it seems, and finally things are starting to happen. We see parts of the events leading up to the sequel, 250 years after we “leave” Tyria and Guild Wars, and we also get to see what the developers are capable of.

I guess I don’t have to tell you I’m overexcited and I can’t wait to get to try out Guild Wars 2 for real! But, of course there are buts. I’ve been reading the articles posted about GW2 over the last week, and I have mixed feelings. The design goals for GW2, mentioned in interviews and in the Design Manifesto posted on the ArenaNet blog, are not what puts me off. Instead, it’s the specifics mentioned in the more detailed articles posted on the GW2 site, especially the ones on skills, weapons and the elementalist. This post will mainly be about skills and the skill system, as I would otherwise end up with Postus Giganticus.

The skill bar will be expanded, from the eight skill slots of GW1, to ten. But, only five of these are “players’ choice”. The first five are determined by your weapon and your profession. This is probably to help us, so we will be able to use more than one weapon without having to rework our entire skill bar during combat, but it also limits our choices. We have yet to see how this works out, it might be well thought through and there might even be choices to make in these five slots. But saying “we give you a skill bar of ten skill slots, although five of these the game picks for you” is weird. Why not give us a skill bar of five and use som other term for the first five.

Secondly, out of the five that are supposedly the player’s choice, one slot is a dedicated healing slot, and one slot is a dedicated elite skill slot. Yea, this will probably help new players a lot, no doubt, but where is choice? Out of ten skill slots, we actually have a real choice for three of them. Yay?

Guild Wars was famous for its builds and skill sets, and some might say infamous. The community has been very good at finding odd combinations and perfecting them, and sometimes exploiting game mechanics while doing so. It was the team’s choice to bring a dedicated healer, or let everyone bring a healing skill, depending on the environment or just the flavour of the month. Now, ArenaNet has chosen to force a healing skill onto every skill bar. I’m not sure this is a good choice, it will streamline and introduce the game better to new players, but it will limit creativity in a way Guild Wars never did. There are other ways to help new players, I’m sure. And the same is true for elite skills. In GW1, some builds didn’t even need an elite skill to work perfectly. Sure, those builds were few, but they existed.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still excited about GW2, I really am. I’m just not as excited as I could have been, and I will elaborate more in coming posts. Hopefully, ArenaNet will be able to turn my doubts into excitement before the beta arrives :)

Links

• Design Manifesto – ArenaNet Blog
• Guild Wars 2: Combat, skills – Guild Wars 2 site
• Interview with Eric Flannum – MMORPG.com
• Weapons and combat – my post

I could make up tons of reasons why I should and why I shouldn’t buy an iPad, but seriously, both you and I know I will buy one. Eventually. The iPhone was a hard choice, it was really expensive and I didn’t know if it would be for me. It was, I still love it even though it has its flaws. I don’t think I could find a better mobile device anyway, at least not at that time.

Buying the Macbook was easier, now I was already introduced to the Apple fandom. The overpricing bothered me less, since I knew what I was paying for. Lots of status and prestige (and taunts) and a device that works in a beautiful way.

Something about Apple and its products makes me happy when using them. It could be the design, or it could be the air surrounding their products. It’s a bit like a cult, the Apple fanbase. Somehow it makes me enjoy the products even more. I think the fascination is based on a bit of both design and air. Apple products, just like Nintendo products, scream “We loved to make this!”, and in turn, you really want to love to use them.

So, me buying an iPad is no surprise. I knew I would. :)
Hopefully, Apple will set a Swedish release date soon.