Cycopl

stuff

I read penny arcade tonight, and gabe's review on Max Payne 2. I think normally I would be offended when he slams a game as hard as he does, but he's right. Max Payne 2 is the exact same game as the first, except with a new "slow motion" bullet time feature that makes Max spin around and do a pretty pose if you kill a certain amount of badguys while under bullet time. Other than that, it's exactly the same as the first. Even the boss of the game requires almost exactly the same strategy as the first one. The difference between me and gabe was, I played through the first game about six or seven times, I loved the hell out of it. I just wanted more, and with Max Payne 2 I got more. So even though I like Max Payne 2, I agree with gabe also.

So, after I get my paycheck monday I should have enough money to start ordering computer pieces. I might have to wait a few days though, for the deposit to actually "register". I don't really know how that works, but I doubt I could deposit the check monday and then order close to $400 dollars in computer pieces the same day, I assume I would get some kind of error or something. I found out that my checking account has no minimum required balance, so I'm not worried about going under 100 dollars anymore, but after I buy this comp I'm still gonna try to keep it over 100 dollars. But this is important, I need a new computer before XI comes out. This is imperative.

You guys probably think that I don't like the game or something because of my update a few days back. This isn't true, I still think that it's going to be the best game out there for a while... until WoW comes out. I trust Blizzard to make a great online multiplayer game *way* more than Squaresoft. Blizzard has infinite experience over Square when it comes to online gaming. Even if it's with stuff like battle.net, they have the concept of game balance and adding new content down. WoW will be adding new content every month just like AC did. This makes me very happy. Companies like Verant (see Everquest) fix bugs and stuff with their updates, and release all of their new content in expansion packs. This is why they release expansion packs every five months or so. How many do they have now? Six? Seven? I don't know. I never even bought the FIRST expansion pack when I had Everquest. What's funny is, these guys shit in peoples' mouths, and then the people smile and say, "I can't wait until you do it again!". Notice the ongoing trend? I hate Everquest.

I think I'm gonna use my "extended entry" option on this post, because it'll be really long if I don't.

There's other online games that have caught my attention but I've pretty much shrugged off. There's Lineage 2, which I've never been really interested in. I DID notice, however, how much it looks like FFXI. I mean, look at it. The character designs look frighteningly similar to FFXI's character designs. I hear that the Koreans are crazy for this game, and the first Lineage game. Crazy to the point where somebody was killed in real life over an ingame occurrence. Apparently these Korean kids play the game at internet cafes and stuff over there (they don't have computers in Korea, silly), and something happened ingame and this kid got killed over it. I guess they take their games pretty seriously over there.

Then there's Mythica, which I'm seriously gonna try to check it out. First of all, it's made by Microsoft. Lots of "elite" people are like "OMG KILL MIRCOSOFT BILL GATES IS SATEN" while typing on their Windows XP machines, but to me, Microsoft is responsible for the best MMORPG and one of the best games I have ever played, Asheron's Call. Well, technically, Turbine is responsible for them... But Mythica just LOOKS like whast Asheron's Call 2 should have looked like. I think you all know my opinion on AC2 (flaming pile of shit), but I think Mythica looks like it's gonna be great. The screenies look beautiful, and the FAQ makes me even more excited, especially the combat part.

The fundamental goal of combat is to provide players the sense of being Immortal. Combat pacing is much different than other MMPs. An Immortal doesn’t take forever to whittle away his foe, nor does it take an entire Immortal party to defeat a common monster.

I can only hope that the combat will be similar to AC. The combat in Asheron's Call was unique because it was much faster paced than any other MMORPG, including FFXI. Being a mage actually required some skill, because you needed to know how to maintain your health, stamina, and mana, all while fighting enemies. In most MMORPG's (including FFXI), a mage runs outside, spends all of his mana fighting stuff, and then sits down and waits for it to come back. In AC, mages can either drain mana from monsters, or drain stamina from monsters and convert it to mana. They can also convert health to mana, but it's usually not a good idea to cut your health in half while fighting unless you're extremely desperate for mana and have healing kits in hand and a decent healing skill.

Back to MMORPG's though.

Middle Earth Online is also something I want to try out. The main reason is, because it's made by Turbine. Something deep inside me really really yearns for another game like Asheron's Call to come out, something that plays remotely the same but has improved graphics and features. I think Middle Earth Online has great potential to be the next game I play, but I'm afraid that *EVERYBODY* will be an elf. I'm pretty sure you can only choose from the "light" LOTR races, like dwarves, elves, hobbits, and humans. I'm convinced that everybody will make an elf, and try to name him "Legolas" or a variation of the name. I've seen tons of variations of the name since I started playing MMORPGs. Legolias. Legolas II. Lego-Las. Legalas. Legolos. Legalos. I'VE SEEN THEM ALL! Honestly though, I think Mythica is gonna be better than this game. Turbine dropped the ball with Asheron's Call 2, and I doubt they're going to go back to the Asheron's Call style of game play, even though Asheron's Call was more successful than AC2.

And finally, Everquest 2. Looks pretty. Not interested whatsoever, though.

Posted by at October 18, 2003 05:52 AM