Mists of Pandaria and how the community is responding to it.

So it has been a little over 2 months since Blizzcon and for the fourth time a new expansion for World of Warcraft is on the way! Mists of Pandaria is to be set in a mystical land called Pandaria and with it brings a whole plethora of new and exciting content such as a new continent, level cap raised to 90, challenge modes in dungeons which is essentially timed runs the new class monk which is an unarmed utility class like the druid and paladin and ofcoarse... the Pandaren as a race... Now this blog entry is not about explaining all the new content that is to come or how excited I am for the new expansion, this blog post is about the community outcry and how it is effecting the MMO giant Blizzard in sales and subscriptions.

So anyone who plays WoW and keeps up to date on it at all knows about this expansion but there is a lot of controversy over the new race because people are saying “Well pandas... really? What is WoW to become nothing but a ridiculous amount of Kung Fu Panda jokes for another 2 years while we wait for the next expansion pack?” well it is people who think like that which starts that sort of thing first of all. The truth of the matter is Pandarens have been around long before the movie starring Jack Black ever came out so if we really think about it Kung Fu Panda technically stole from Blizzard but that is neither here nor there... In fact the outcry is understandable, many people play Warcraft because the story is rather extensive and gripping and with each expansion it expands the lore and let's face the music the Warcraft has been nothing but a dark fantasy throughout it's history starting with the war between the Orcs and the Humans and progressing through the warcraft series such as purging Stratholme of undead and such. And let's look at the World of Warcraft expansions that have come and gone shall we?

First off we had Burning Crusade arguably the best expansion Blizzard ever released because it was different from the way vanilla used to be played but at the same time oddly similar and with the main plot being to stop the Burning Legion and Illidan from entering Azeroth and ruling it. The land was bleak, dark and shattered giving the players a sense of not only desolation on an entirely new planet but also one of great loss and sacrifice from the ones who were there before, and on top of that a vibrant and distant history of what was once Draenor.

Two years later Wrath of the Lich King was released ushering in an entirely new continent on our own planet to explore but this time we of the Horde and the Alliance took the fight to the icy shores fighting off the undead and marching on Icecrown Citadel to ultimately face the Lich King the former prince of Lordaeron and stop him from unleashing his undead army across Azeroth while meeting the Dragonflights and their leader Alexstrasza.

Not long after the war against the Lich King ended the true end came when Deathwing the Aspect of Death shattered Azeroth from it's very core shaking the elements into unrest and plotting not to take over the world but destroy it in the end; quite possibly the most dark of all the story lines having had the world shattered and red and blue fighting for dominance and resources in an otherwise destroyed world while trying to somehow work together to bring down the big cheese himself: Deathwing.

Currently patch 4.3 is out and Deathwing faces our blades in the final showdown of one of the best and most cinematic boss fights blizzard has ever conceived and that to most players is epic and truly a great experience to be apart of something like that... But this however leads us to the main subject here which is Mists of Pandaria and it's fighting force of Jackie Chan pandas. In the past as you can see the story has been dark so how are players reacting to this rather drastic change of heart? Well you can go on Youtube and look up the announcement trailer for the expansion and the like/dislike bar is about at the middle, and having spoken with players in the game itself about how they feel the situation is about the same. You see people are seeing this as simply just an expansion about Pandas but that is not what it is about there is so much more to the expansion then that and if you have any faith in Blizzards ability to build great lore then you would knows this. You see you have the Sha which is like hatred and evil manifested into creatures that are looking to destroy Pandaria and being the good citizens of Azeroth that we are we cannot allow that sort of thing now can we? Amongst the Pandariens there are factions which is neat to see. You have the pandas of the north, south, west and east all with different signs they run their life by such as the Shado-pan who are pretty much ninja pandas which is pretty bad ass in my personal opinion. Having listened to the creative team behind Blizzard speak about Mists of Pandaria lore wise at Blizzcon it is apparent to me that this is not just some sham to make little children and over protective parents feel better about what they or their kids are playing this truly is a Blizzard expansion! They are putting a great effort into it making a rich and vibrant culture for this otherwise mysterious race of beings who deal with their own problems and as a player you can see the way they live and why they would not want to involve themselves with the rest of the world that is in the midst of great chaos, it ties in with the shattering and how that effected even the shores of Pandaria... In the end of the day it all ties in lore wise Pandaria is like all the other expansions just another addition to the ever changing World... of Warcraft. However despite Blizzard having explained this to people time and time again people as we know don't always listen so what does this mean for the mega giant? Well not much really... There is a 5% (so far) loss of subscriptions which is still a fair amount considering that is about 600k subscribers that they have lost but it will not effect the game from what I have heard or seen. Blizzard has outright said they intend to keep WoW running for many years to come (hopefully with a bit of a graphics update as it's age is beginning to show.) and this content may be lighter than what has happened before but it is a good change of pace and not having an antagonist which has not been done since way back in vanilla is a strange but refreshing feeling because personally as an roleplayer I get tired of hearing about “We'll bring Deathwing down, we're right on his doorstep.” every time I walk into an RP hotspot.

For the record much of this was just my honest opinion on the entire situation and you may or may not agree and I may have left some stuff out and in truth I am not even a Blizzard fanboy I just happen to really love the MMO they have put out and I have a ton of fun on their like millions of other people. But what I am really trying to get to here is people seem to judge much faster than they should I mean there are complaints about WoW becoming too casual and blizzard is not balancing it enough for the hardcore MMO fans but maybe that is the direction they are looking to take to appeal to a much broader audience and like any MMO there are those who love it and those who hate it no matter what they do! They could move a rock in Blasted Lands 5 feet to the left and someone somewhere would complain about it... “I was world pvping and that rock wasn't their so I could line of sight the mage...” or something along those lines... End of the day I urge both casual and longterm players to just wait and see what Blizzard gives us and play it before you make any rash decisions on weather you will like it or not. The idea may not be appealing but who knows when you finally get your hands on it you might enjoy it.

Welcome back to me?

Hey everyone long time no see! As you can tell I have been away for some time the truth is I just lost the drive to really give any reviews which I somewhat regret because since my last blog post way back in June there have been some great titles released which I ofcoarse have played and reviewed them to anyone who would listen to me so for that I am sorry and hey I may even do a late review on those games for anyone looking to read into them more. Anyways I have decided to start blogging again because of a mixture of things such as your continual support for me, it is strange I have been getting followers and comments, messages for some time now and yet I have been dormant in my blogging escapades. Regardless of that I think what this blog may turn into besides the usual video game, tech and movie reviews is me just speaking to you on a casual basis instead of get it in on time sort of deal. Voice my opinions more because recently with subjects such as EA's road to dominance they are paving in the gaming industry and the new expansion outcry of Mists of Pandaria from fans of the Warcraft series I think it's only right to have a voice and use it while we still can so long as SOPA doesn't catch up to us before then.

Anyways... Just wanted to let you all know I am not dead just yet and I hope everyone had a great christmas and a happy holiday. PEACE!

E3 Highlights - Microsoft

Yes it is a bit late, E3 was 5 days ago and you all are going. "Why is he not covering it?!" well here is a recap of all the juicy things to come out of it. If you want further information on these upcoming games and hardware visit Gametrailers.com or IGN.com for more info and exclusive interviews.

Microsoft
Halo 4 -To kick things off with a boom yes it is official! Halo 4 was announced and a Teaser Trailer was shown at the Microsoft Press conference and the audience was in an uproar of enthusiasm when they saw what was to come, this title however will not be done by Bungie who has made the Halo franchise ever so popular it will be interesting who is going to be taking the lead and how it will turn out. On top of that the new Halo: Aniversary is coming out which is a bungie updated version of the classic Halo: Combat Evolved, with story, multiplayer and some familiar tricks from Reach.

Modern Warfare 3 - The show was started off with a gameplay preview of the upcoming Modern Warfare 3, the game looks stellar and had the audience riding along on a U.S Delta Force mission to intercept and destroy a Russian submarine in the Hudson River, the game looked fantastic and believe it or not more action packed then the previous ones (I know right? Might blowing) I personally am a big fan of the series and look forward to the ever famous action sequences of the new MW3.

Kinect Titles - A new generation is coming out and that is the motion capturing generation, with the announcement and release of Kinect last year it is only expected of Microsoft to give us newer and better titles, this year however focused quite heavily on upcoming Kinect titles such as the new Star Wars game, Fable: The Journey, an ancient Rome warrior game called Ryse, Disneyland Adventures, Seseme Street: Once upon a Monster which is being developed by Double Fine the company that gave us Brutal Legend (I hope Eddie makes a comeback in this new Seseme Street game) and ofcoarse what motion sensing hardware would be complete without a whole new sports game. (Yay?)

Tomb Raider - That's right our sexy, dangerous grime riddled fantasy is coming back but this time with a bit of a twist, the title simply called Tomb Raider was showcased at the conference and it seemed quite darker than the other games, this one is taking place as the Origin story of Laura Croft and in the demo we say poor Laura fall down and break her arm and with that she crawled through a tunnel trying to escape some natives looking to kill her and through the cave ins and survival puzzles the game looks like it is going to be great.

Mass Effect 3 - Yes my pride and joy was also shown there with actual gameplay, there is much to be said about this but the conference is not the only place gameplay was shown! On the floor for the first time ever we as the players got to witness Earth in the Mass Effect universe specifically it being invaded by the reapers the sight for me literally stopped by heart which I was then later resuscitated and able to resume to video. Now as for the conference itself it showed Commander Shepard on the Salarian homeworld helping Mordin Solis and a Krogan Princess escape, it showcased several new things including a melee weapon Shepard can use called an omni'blade, stealth takedowns, rolling, jumping gaps and all around kicking ass. Now a new feature that is quite exciting is Mass Effect 3 will be Kinect ready meaning yes you as a player can talk and decide the narrative if you want (Though from what I saw you must still pick from the narrative) still this is a big step forward and on top of that you may also direct your squad using a command such as "Garrus move up" and he will do just that, amazing eh? The delay I hope will make all the time waiting for it worth it and a release date was finally given as well. March 6th 2012 it comes out so hold onto your seats folks.

Forza Motorsport 4 - This hotly anticipated racing game was also seen at the conference showcasing a bit of gameplay as well as the new graphics engine they are using, the cars now look much more sleek and realistic and the lighting and shine of it all is truly breathtaking, they announced new features like community car clubs, a rivals mode and a world tour. The game was given a release date of October 11, 2011.

Gear of War 3 - One of the most hotly anticipated titles of the year was given given a campaign gameplay trailer which had Delta fighting a giant worm and of coarse the Locust, with all the footage and announcements of the game personally I am a bit upset they are giving away so much information on it but all in all it is gearing up to be a great looking game especially for any Gears fans out there.

That pretty much wraps up the Microsoft E3 conference if you want more info on these games go check out Gametrailers.com or IGN.com

Review: L.A Noire

The woman was brutally stabbed to death and the entire L.A police department is stumped but there is one man who stand above all... His name is Cole Phelps and he is the latest hero in Rockstars lineup! That's right L.A Noire has been released and it is Rockstar as you have never seen before.

First off I should say that this is a Rockstar published game but the talent behind it lies in Sydney, Australia from one of Rockstars sub companies Team Boni. Yes the Aussies have delivered us a game unlike you have ever played before.

Now in L.A Noire for the first time in a Rockstar game you play as the good guys, you are Cole Phelps a street cop in 1940's L.A and your job is to climb the ladder from simple street cop with an eye for investigation all the way to Vice (The Rolls Royce of policing apparently...) So we begin with Phelps getting a lucky break as some boys from Vice do not want to bother with an investigation leaving Phelps to take care of it and through some in depth policing you find that a simple shot to the head goes much deeper and once the case is solved it seems the head honcho of the local PD has his eye on you. He quickly promoted you to the Traffic desk which has you investigating a series of deaths having to do with automobiles. The story quickly escalated from there but it is up to you as the player to find out just how it escalates.

Onto the overall story, now this is a bit different since there is no "Main story" each desk you get promoted to will have you following a series of murders most of which have to do with the same killer however it will take some good policing to figure out weather the suspects and witnesses are lying, or telling the truth. The game uses a sophisticated facial capturing technology which actually captures the expressions of the actors playing the characters and put's it in stunning realism. During investigations you will first visit the crime scenes which are surprisingly brutal and gritty, so it is advised you not have kids in the room on them as they do not censor themselves at all. Your job is to search the area for clues which can be examined and used as evidence later in interrogations.

During interrogations is where the facial recognition really comes into play, as a player you will ask them a series of questions and you will have to ability to choose one of three options being Lie, Doubt and Truth. Now you are going to have to try and read their facial expressions in order to try and make your final decision which of the three are going to be used. Selecting Lie for example will force you to accuse them and you will have to use evidence found in the investigation in order for it to be the right answer but if you have no evidence then you must doubt or if you think they are being straight then select Truth! It is a simple concept yet surprisingly difficult to nail all the right answers.

Now onto the action of the game.. Now as most Rockstar games focus heavily on the physics and the combat this one concentrates mostly on the interrogations with some shooting and driving, the shooting will feel familiar to you but it will not feel as polished as say Red Dead Redemption or GTA 4, instead it uses a mediocre version of the famous Rockstar physics and often is not as responsive as you would like to make it feel like a satisfying kill. The driving in the game is a huge part.. Bigger than it needs to be to be completely honest, L.A is beautifully reconstructed in the game and could take you a good 25 minutes to get across the city in a straight line! But 40% of the game is driving around in beater cars that feel just as mediocre as the gun fighting, do not expect the same level of detail as GTA 4 in terms of car reaction to impacts, dents scratches you name it.. The cares back then apparently were tanks on wheels because a bent bumper and a cracked windshield are about the most damage you wills see besides an exploding car.

I will also note that the world is not as living and breathing as it is in previous Rockstar games there is no driving around and throwing darts at a bar or going to eat at a Burger King it simply wants you to do the Main Story with about 40 side missions that randomly appear around the city which normally result in the same thing.. Shootout, car chase or foot pursuit. There really is not much diversity in terms of things to do and truthfully this game could have done much better considering it was announced 5 years ago. I will also mention that at each desk you are given a partner each one with their own charms but they are not much help at all besides using them as a fast travel method... For once in a game the answer is YES! Someone else will drive you to the location, but besides that it seems all they do is tell you obvious points and bitch about various things when in the end Cole is always right it seems. I also mentioned the facial recognition earlier which is a fantastic technology and I hope other games use it in the future but in this game the tech far exceeds the came.. In comparison to the games graphics the facial expressions look like moving masks and the children in the game look horribly done, specifically a little girl you interrogate at the Homicide desk (Play it and see for yourself).

This game is solid and there is an even number of good things as well as the bad to be said about this game, that is not necessarily a good thing however as you want to minimalize the bad when making a game.. Especially one that took 5 years to develop, the idea is solid but there needs to be more to do and it needs to feel more real if it wants to compete with the upcoming 2011 titles. In summary it is a solid game that is worth a rent if you are in the mood for a game that takes a sharp mind to play but if you are looking to buy it beware the replay-ability of this game is limited to none.

6.5/10

Mass Effect 3 delayed until 2012

Yes you heard it right EA announced not so long ago that Mass Effect 3 will be delayed from it's original release date which was set in holiday season in the US to the first three months of 2012. Now I am a hardcore Mass Effect fan as most of you should know by now but as I am alittle disappointed it is not the end of the world for me, infact I think this is a good thing! Look at Dragon Age 2, it seemed rushed. The dungeons were mostly recycled and the story seemed to be rather bland and for that I was disappointed with Bioware for putting the pressure on getting it out of the development studio. Atleast With Mass Effect 3 we can look forward to 4 months more they put into the production of this game to allow for a better game when it is released.

So I am still looking forward too it and hey worst case scenario we wait until March 2012 to play it.

More content coming soon and May & June game release dates

Hey guys whats up it's been like a month?! First off I am sorry for the lack of content but my computer has been on the frits and it took some time to repair it but the good news is I am back (Or will be) with a review of L.A Noire which by the way releases this Tuesday so keep an eye out for that and to show you guys how much I care I am going to list upcoming releases for May and June.

May - The BIG ones  

Fable 3 (PC)  - May 17th
L.A Noire (Xbox360/PS3) - May 17th
Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings (PC) - May 17th
DiRT 3 (Xbox360/PS3/PC) - May 24th
Hunted: The Demon's Forge (Xbox360/PS3/PC) - May 31st


June - The BIG ones


inFamous 2 (PS3) - June 7th
Red Faction: Armageddon (Xbox360/PS3/PC) - June 7th
Duke Nukem Forever (Xbox360/PS3/PC) - June 14th
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (3DS) - June 19th
F.E.A.R. 3  (Xbox360/PS3/PC) - June 21st
Dungeon Siege 3 (Xbox360/PS3/PC) - June 21st

New details on Mass Effect 3 revealed

Some new details on the upcoming conclusion to this console generations most beloved franchises Mass Effect 3. Game Informer recently sat down and watched a demo with executive producer Casey Hudson in the Bioware studios in Edmonton, Alberta and this is what was revealed.

The Story: Mass Effect 3 will start off just after Mass effect 2's final expansion "Arrival" and will open with Shepard explaining the events that transpired during his mission that left an entire system destroyed. During which time the invasion we have all been waiting for will begin where as in the first Mass Effect it took an entire fleet to bring down Sovreign now hundreds of the massive starships are coming to destroy all sentient life in the galaxy and the start with Earth. From what is revealed Shepard will witness from his ship the first attack on Earth hitting every major city across the globe in a single well coordinated attack, the massive fleet is far beyond anything the military can handle and Earth is ultimately lost so the true story begins when Shepard must figure out a way to not bring a team together like in the first two games but bring an entire galaxy together to fight this threat. 

The plan: As the Reapers destroy planet after planet in their campaign to wipe out life in the galaxy Shepard must venture to the homeworlds of several cultures and attempt to get them to support him in this war, however this in itself brings out problems that are not simply menial tasks such as get us this object and we will help you; no Mass Effect 3 offers conflicts that have been well drawn out and have stretched through the games and novels such as for example going to the Salarian homeworld to try and gain support but at the same time they are having issues with the Krogan who are in a warring conflict with them on an account of the genophage. It is promised that the decisions you make will not always be easy ones as there is always 2 sides to every story and whichever decision you make some may be able to expertly be talked or fought through however some may end in the inevitable loss of an ally or the destruction of a civilization before the Reapers even get the chance to start anything.

The battlefield: Mass Effect 3 will also be changing up the fighting system alittle but it will be most known to those familiar with Mass Effect 2's fighting style as it very much remains the same, the only differences will be more fluent actions such as having the ability to roll, jump gaps, climb ladders and small obstacles without first having to hide behind cover to vault over it. The cover peeking system has also been changed slightly to give it a more "realistic" feel. These seem like good changes however Bioware has looked at the criticism of ME fans and has heard the pleas of those loyal to the first game and are stepping it up once more, even with all these changes to the combat making it feel like a more third person shooter they are also concentrating heavily on more story, more quests and more customization. If you remember Mass Effect 1 the games was all about numbers before the actual skill of the player but now instead of the clunky inventory system and tons of upgrades to go with the gun or armor you now have a more in depth customization of both armor and guns. You will be able to customize your weapons how you see fit such as for example mounting a bayonet on the end of your assault rifle or put a scope on or a larger clip and it will all show cosmetically not just in the numbers. The same goes for your armor such as shop and research upgrades that will show cosmetically aswell. On another note all weapons will be available to all classes which is good but how a class such as Soldier will be set apart from a class like Adept the Soldier will be able to carry every weapon at once and have unique abilities whereas the Adept would be able to choose only 2 or 3 to take at a time but rely on there biotic powers more than anything else.

This is the end: The sad news is that will excite people aswell as disappoint them is that as this is the third and final chapter to Shepards story this will ultimately be the end of one of gamings favorite hero's perhaps in death or perhaps he might live you will just have to play to find out weather he lives or dies however it will cement him in Mass Effect lore forever. This does not mean Mass Effect will end though! Casey Hudson in past interviews has announced that there will be alternate stories in future games and bringing Mass Effect out of video games and into other medias such as movies for example which is rumored to have the Mass Effect movie already underway. During the interview with Game Informer however Casey Hudson however not green lighting the Mass Effect MMO he did hint towards it "Making sense as Shepard is saving the galaxy so you can live in it peacefully - why not actually do just that?"... Who knows, perhaps we will see an MMO in the future after the release of Star War: KOTOR.

In conclusion I personally am looking forward to this game as I am a beloved fan of the series and cannot wait to see how this all ends with my favorite hero. On a side note I want to thank Game Informer and Casey Hudson for everything in regards to information about the final game of the trilogy.