Team Vashj tries their luck in the Fractals of the Mists

You know, sometimes I have good ideas. I'm not saying this is one of them. I'm just saying... sometimes I have them.

So now that we got that out of the way let's discuss this particular idea. Team Vashj (aka: da Cuddwy Kwoo) decided the time was right to jump into some of the "end game" offerings in Guild Wars 2. Why not? We're all level capped and Kitty's internet connection drama seems to have worked itself out... What sort of end game offerings you may ask? Well the sort that usually requires a full group of five people that have some understanding of their class abilities and what to expect in scripted combat.

 We have four part-time clueless, but full-time full-throttle players that wanna see this "end game" shat anyway.
Click the link for a recap of our hijinks! Don't worry, I edited it down to 10 minutes from the original 45. Yeah it took us that long. Can't say we don't have persistence (as evidenced by us making it to our one year anniversary)!

How to World Vs. World - Yes there's more!

It's already been a whole day since Guild Wars 2 shoveled the snow, packed up the tree, and took down the lights (things I haven't done). Lion's Arch just isn't as exciting without all those jerks pelting me with snowballs every time I run through. So to fill the void I bring you the third installment of "How to World Vs. World, A Silent Film". Because it's exciting.

OK FINE- Mostly because I finished it a couple days ago and I hate having things just sitting around... which is exactly why the chocolate is gone as well.

So take advantage of my impatience and clear 14 minutes and 7 seconds of your schedule starting.... now!

More GW2 Wintersday Event Madness

Oh boy, the Toypocalypse is upon us, whatever shall we do?

Well, if I were you, I would click the READ MORE link and follow the instructions contained within the page expansion VERY, VERY carefully.

GW2 Wintersday Events!

Some of you may already be aware of the awesomeness of the first Guild Wars 2 Wintersday event ArenaNet has put together. But for those of you that have yet to check it out, fear not! They are keeping the candy train comin' until January 3rd.

And if you still can't bring yourself to log in while we're celebrating a white Wintersday you better have a damn good reason cause that just ain't right! Lucky for you I'm here though, otherwise you might not be able to locate any footage of the super festive mini-events you've been missing... since like only a million people play this game... or something.

Anyway! Click the "READ MORE" below to have your mind blown by my musical prowess! Mhmm, bet you didn't know I can rock out on bells.

R.I.P.

Let's all gather around and have a moment of silence for the passing of an American Hero .

Ok moment over.

Today, friends, we all suffer a tremendous loss due to the closure of all the Hostess Brands factories shutting down. Like most things in America, you can blame the unions and mismanagement for this epic failure. Since you know, it's not like they weren't selling product... LOOK AT US.

Once we have properly mourned the passing of the legendary gamer fuel supplier we will have to dig deep to answer the burning question on everyone's mind; What do we do now?

Well, I guess there's always Mountain Dew and Doritos...

Click the READ MORE for a list of some of Hostess Brands most treasured treats that we shall forever miss. 

Mists of Pandaria: A Haiku

Has it already been a week since Blizzard's latest x-pac launched? Oh, well I guess it has been. Time just flew! You know, cause I've been so busy playing... Guild Wars 2. Now, that isn't to say I haven't played MoP. I have. Enough to be able gift you with this beautiful pseudo-haiku.

Close your eyes and prepare to be transported across a moonlit sea (that one's for you Sel).

OK, NOW OPEN YOUR EYES 'CAUSE YOU NEED TO CLICK THIS LINK!

The Gummi Bears (Krewe) do World vs World

I recorded some World vs World to show people what it looks like with the AMD Radeon HD 6670 (aka the only graphics card in the world that perpetually takes a **** while playing). I get between 1 to 3 FPS while even when I'm not participating in anything that would be considered "graphically intense". Oh, and before you start pointing out all the trees- just know that I'm playing on the lowest possible graphics settings before the game starts looking like an 8 bit arcader from the 80's.

And yes, this song was completely appropriate since Shirley and I are the Gummi Bear Krewe... she always wanted to be a furry.

Feel my pain!

xoxo ~glynnia

GW2 First Impressions and Vistas!

My first impressions of the Guild Wars 2 launch have been really good. They brought the servers up three hours prior to the "official" preplay scheduled time and I had no problem picking my server or creating my character! Already winning in my book.  Even the lag was pretty minimal given the amount of bodies populating the zones (dead or otherwise). One of the smoothest launches I've participated in, eva!

Now, that isn't to say there haven't been hiccups, but what launch would be complete without them?

CLICK THE LINK FOR THE CURE TO HICCUPS! Ok, not really, it's just more text and a video... but still, click the link!

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!

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

Life as a Jedi Consular

= NO RESPECT!

Ok, you're right... I'm being mellow-dramatic. C2-N2 respects you. Well, if he had feelings he would. But he doesn't so you'll just have to settle for the 001010011s that FEEL respectful... How sad that the most valuable of my slaves (aka "companions") is a steward droid for my ship. But more on that later...

What prompted my outburst you might ask? Well, I finally got around to finishing my class quest and to put it into too few words: I was wholly underwhelmed. Foolish of me, I know, to hope that after all the hum-drum, annoying, pointless, and illogical to the point of being infuriating quests and seemingly uninspired story arc's I had to complete to get there, that the end would justify the means... that I would dare to hope they had saved the best for last... that maybe, just maybe, there would be some kind of payoff that would have made it all worth it.

This is where Bheez reminds me for the umpteenth time that this is supposed to be "the thinking man's class". [Insert Laugh Track Here]

Just a note: This write up does not reflect my feelings on actual class mechanics or game play (it gets better at 50). I am actually enjoying my Sage in PvP now that I have a bit of gear and Bheez says he's very happy playing his Shadow so there you have it.


[STORY SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT- YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! BUT PLEASE READ ANYWAY SINCE IF YOU ROLLED THIS CLASS YOU'RE PROBABLY SPACEBARRING THROUGH THE STORY ANYWAY.]