F2P Series - Smite (Beta)

With this post we will be concluding our F2P series for the indefinite future as Guild Wars 2 is launching in a matter of hours(!) and we suspect the blog will become saturated with offerings of useless information and ridiculous hijinks focused on the lands of Tyria... that is until we reach burnout and/or inevitable disappointment!

With that said, Bheez and I were lucky enough to be able to experience Smite in its "closed beta" for the past couple of weeks (along with the other 500 thousand people that applied for a free beta key). Smite is the love child that you'd get if a MOBA and MMORPG stayed in while listening to some Teddy Pendergrass. In fact, why don't you go ahead and click on over to that link to set the mood for this post.

If you like the above mentioned game genres then it's very likely you'll like Smite. Unless you can't stand ancient lore and culture references, or monkeys, then you won't like it at all. Smite pits some of history's most badace gods against one another with a MOBA style flow but changes things up by using a 3rd person perspective- giving it a battleground feel. As our friend Hooch once put it, "It's like a 30 minute MMO". Indeed it is.

CHOOSE YOUR GOD- BY CLICKING THE LINK!

F2P Series - DC Universe Online

DC Universe Online; home to the superhero and (super)villains of yesteryear... yesteryear being January of 2011 when DCUO launched as a subscription based game. They say the first year is always the hardest and in this game's case it would seem the first 11 months were so rough it couldn't even make it to its first anniversary before succumbing to the F2P game model in November.

Well, DC Universe, you have my attention now!

I remember hearing about this game but never really looking into it because, well, let's be honest (since I'm normally not with you)... I'm just not into spandex and face paint. I'm MUCH more into swords, spells, 'n face paint. Seeing as how Bheez has a flare for the dramatic this game was right up his alley, and mine too since I signed on to do this review series. And you know what? If I have to suffer then everybody does. That's why I invited Shirley to guest review on this installment of the F2P Series!

SEE HOW WE FARED IN A WORLD ALMOST AS SCARY AS THE REAL ONE!

Dance Dance MMO (DDM)

xoxo ~glynnia

Cute Things Exploding: Dragon Nest Edition

Sorry for the crappy quality... but as Shirley likes to say, we wouldn't be Welfare Gamers without it!

Inspiration for this edition of "Cute Things Exploding" brought to you by: Nyan Cat

xoxo~glynnia

A Eulogy to Kyre, Glynnia's Dead Poochum

SO I WROTE A EULOGY OF GLYNNIA'S DECEASED POOCHUM. BECAUSE EVEN THO I NEVER GOT ALONG WITH IT, IT DID MAKE GLYNNIA HAPPY WHICH IS IMPORTANT TO ME. AHEM- ANYWAYS-I never knew poochum very well, most of the time I saw him was me staring at his disproportionate butt, as he waddled ahead of me stealing all my shinies. I never really saw in him what Glynnia saw, and even though he couldn't balance anything on said disproportionate butt, Glynnia still loved him, so I guess I can say a few nice words about him. He was a brave poochum,even though he was way whimpier than my atrium poochum. He fought in battle along side me, aka yelping and yipping as I took hit after hit from monsters and he watched acting like he was actually a part of the fight. I'll never know why you were so special, especially considering that Glynnia let you touch her shinies(she would never let me do that). But for what its worth im glad Glynnia found you for a little while, its always nice when she is smiling. Even if its at my demise. Farewell dear poochum, may you eternally but scoot in poochum heaven

Time Heals All

xoxo ~glynnia

Love at First Sight

This is a tale of love at first sight... and unavoidable, inconsolable woe. So grab your tissue and possibly a snack cause this might take a while.

One beautiful bright sunny day in Cadderock Pass I was hanging around the busy plaza reading my picture book and minding my own business when the sound of beautiful delicate bells chiming filled my headset... "Mail for me?! Now, who would be sending me anything?" I pondered excitedly as I quickly jumped up from my place of rest in the middle of the bridge and ran to the nearest mailbox. Upon peeking into that black abyss I soon discovered a small box had been left for me. It appeared most ordinary upon first sight, but as I removed it I noticed there were several small holes poked into the top and a wet spot on the bottom which momentarily distracted me from the faint growling sound emanating from within. As I caught a whiff of what was inside I knew it could only be one thing! With much haste I opened the box to find one of the world's most beautiful creations contained inside...


To get to the good part click below! (Satisfaction not guaranteed.)

Dragon Nest sample PvP

As promised

F2P Series - Dragon Nest

So it was only a couple days into our stint with DDO when Bheez kept shoving this F2P down my throat. He was so excited about it that he started it without me... which royally pissed me off. So naturally I jumped on installing it and getting started myself without telling him. Because, yes, it IS a pissing contest. Always (and forever~).

My initial opinion was that I wouldn't like this game because firstly it's made by a Korean company (too many bad experiences), and secondly it is done in the typical anime-ish style that just doesn't do it for me (again, too many bad experiences). However, coming fresh off of playing DDO I figured it couldn't get more annoying so I dove in, and surprisingly didn't regret it.

READ MORE OF MY HATE OF ALL THINGS AZN AFTER THE JUMP! Ok not all things... I like the food... and also the cute little things they make to hold other cute little things in... and the shrimp flavored candy...and the engrish stationary... andandand-

F2P Series - Dungeons & Dragons Online

Ah Dungeons & Dragons! Arguably one of the most popular war-gaming franchises to date, steeped in history (hey, it's from the 70's so it's practically, like, ancient /side-eye) and controversy (who can forget the religious propaganda claiming it was the gateway to hell!) even in this modern day. One of my first experiences with the game was in college when I was visiting a friend, she introduced to me to her circle of peeps (mmm peeps) that just so happened to be playing the table top game.  I watched for a while and thought it seemed kinda neat, if you're into LARPing, which I'm not. ANYWAY. Later on a co-worker of mine mentioned he played the table top as well and then got me into painting minis. It was a phase, don't judge me!


In short: I've never played the game!  


So, when Bheez and I sat down to figure out what we were gonna do with ourselves over the next several weeks until GW2 goes live he threw out the names of a bunch of F2P games we should explore. And, naturally, being familiar-ish with the D&D brand I decided it would be a good place to start. 




PICS AND MAYHEM... AND MORE WORDS... AFTER THE JUMP!

Free To Play (F2P) Series

Hey all,

Bheez and I have decided to embark on a free to play game series to pass the time while we wait for the Guild Wars 2 launch. We’ll be attempting to go through a couple games a week and grading them with a five star scale on the categories below:

Customization- How visually unique can your character be? Does it support custom UI configurations or mods and key mapping?

Game Play- How intuitive is the game? Are the intro quests designed to help you learn the controls of the game?

Graphics- This one is obvious. Is it PRETTY? We will take into consideration graphic engine sophistication and support at the time of launch for older entries.

Creativity- Does this game offer anything outside of what is expected in a MMO?

Fun Factor- Did I laugh because I was having a good time… or did I laugh because Bheez wasn’t having a good time?

So join us for some screenies and vids as we stumble through some of the internet’s finest F2P games! Feel free to leave your game suggestions in the comments.

xoxo ~glynnia