Age of Conan(AOC) is a new MMORPG that was released late April 2008.

I played the beta before release and really enjoyed the combat & quest system. Now I am currently playing the full release and still cracking away at it.

Combat system is very different, many MMORPGs have an “autoattack” button where your character will automatically swing your weapon. From level 1 AOC has 3 buttons when in melee attack, left, overhead and right. The enemies you are attacking have symbols on any of the three attack points that show how they are “guarding” which shows where they will take less damage. So you have to pay attention while fighting!:)

I can’t really ask for a better quest system there is the standard quest log with a twist. You “select” a quest to be on, while on that quest there is a arrow in the direction of the objective with a nice X. Along with all that, every quest giver I have encountered speaks to you, the quest is also in text if you need it.  There is also a quest chain that occurs at night, you go to the inn keeper talk with her and she will fast forward to nighttime where the game becomes “single player”.

The game does feel a bit chunky then others but that could be my computer, it is beautiful even on the lowest settings.

AOC will probably keep my attention until Warhammer is released.

Thats a small touch of the game, if you have any questions feel free to ask.

~Micah

Last Wednesday Marlintinis hosted a Rock Band contest. There were a total of two set ups on the big rear projection TVs. My group was pretty pumped and had fun. Unfortunately there were only two bands competing, I am really hoping there will be more for the next round.

The scoring system was interesting and it is done in a way that people right off the street have a fighting chance. A group may be playing on expert but the group playing on medium can still win it.

There is a nightly prize for the winners then a grand prize after the 5 weeks, I hope to see you all there next week.

I am told the finalists will be playing on the main stage like a real “band” which will be amazing.

~Micah

What can I say, one of the best game series out there.

Rockstar Games have produced amazing GTA games in the past and I doubt this one will be any different.  What makes this one so good? Multiplayer. Yeah thats right.  Whats more fun then blowing your friends apart in High Definition.

The game isn’t set to release till April 29 so we will just have to wait.  But it’s well worth it.

~Micah

Most people that play MMORPGs(Massive Multi-player Online Role Playing Games) have either heard of it or done it themselves.

Buying and selling of in game currency with real life currency. In EverQuest, Eve Online and World of Warcraft they are known as “Chinese Gold Farmers“. But every MMORPG have gold farmers. A company by the name of IGE is one of the largest and most trusted sellers.

And its not just foreign countries farming gold, back when I played EverQuest a few of us sold a lot of money online. We received checks as high as $600 for only a few hours work, not bad for a game is it?

The industry of Gold Farming has exploded with World of Warcraft, the the subscriptions climbing as high as 9 million its no real surprise. It’s worth it to some people to spend a $100 on WoW gold where it would take hours to farm it.

With buying/selling gold online does have its risks, it is against the rules of every gaming company and you can be banned. I have a friend that ran into trouble and got his account banned.

Some feel buying currency is immoral and some have no problem with it. It’s all about how much your time is worth to you.

Anyone have any gold farming stories?

~Micah

Type: BYOC (Bring Your Own Computer), Console (If anything bring a controller)

Consoles will be played on projectors.

Main Contact: Jeremy Johnson, gamers@uas.alaska.edu. You can call him at 209-2957 But please only do so if the building is locked.

Where: UAS Egan 218, 219, and 224.

When: Saturday 2/23/08

Time: 2pm to 11pm

Cost Student: Free(Student is aloud to bring one guest for free)

Cost Public: $5
~Micah

2008 should bring some awesome games, one I am looking forward to is Turok.

What can be more fun then lots of weapons and abilities fighting off a bunch of genetically engineered foes? Come on! Nothing gets too much better then that!

Turok will be released on the PS3, 360 and PC tomorrow… will local stores have it? Who knows…

IGN gave the game a 7.3 where X-Play gave it 3 stars… Might not be that impressive and may just be anther blast everything to hell kind of game. But sometimes.. thats all you need, no thinking.. just plain chaos.:)

~Micah

Eternal Sonata was released on the PS3 and X360.

Like a lot of RPGs it is a JRPG(Japanese Roll Playing Game) .  JRPGs are generally  more cartoony and “cutesy” but gameplay has been known to be amazing.

Same goes with Eternal Sonata, the graphics are stunning and I have no complaints about game play.

I received it as a X-Mass gift but did intend on buying it untill I beat Mass Effect, but I ended up putting Mass Effect on hold to play Eternal Sonata.

I have 20+ hours into the game and still going, the game is broken up into chapter and is based off Frederic Chopin the amazing Pianist.

You learn quite a bit about his life and story, the game play takes place in a dream.

If you have any comments on the game feel free to post, if you end up buying it I hope you enjoy, I have.

~Micah

For gamers we only have two real options…

ACS DSL & GCI Cable.

GCI

Everyone has their opinions on the two but for the most part gamers have unlimited download cable modems. But they pay a lot for the service. If you want unlimited downloads you must get a package with TV & phone. GCI does however offer a cheaper service with just internet but it is not unlimited.

ACS

DSL does have its advantages though, friends have reported they get a better ping time to the lower 48 states. You can also get unlimited downloads for a cheaper rate with DSL. A selling point is that your on your own “network” where GCI your on a LAN like system with other people in your neighborhood and sharing bandwidth. I personally haven’t had issues with speed but.. ya know.. selling point. Some do say DSL is unreliable, dropping and such. But with any ISP, they can have issues time to time.

I will list AT&T just because, its not a gaming solution in my opinion.

AT&T

They offer WiMAX which is basically a microwave wireless signal, you plug a little box in your wall and bam, you have internet… You also have to be in range of their transmitter, line of sight has always been a challenge in this town. I don’t know of anything with this service so I can’t really comment on its quality but it is wireless, wireless has always been unreliable for games.

With all 3 of those right there I would still pick cable, with being on a “LAN” connections between myself and buddies is very fast and its pretty close to being in the same room.

~Micah

There is always concern if video and computer games make people violent or they are just a waste of time. What do I say?  No. The person makes themselves violent, and maturity plays a factor. My friends along with myself are pretty chill. Of course we get excited or may have a quick fist pound on the table, but nothing to the point where we are going to hurt anyone.

I have read dozens of articles on parents taking away video games because they fear they will make their child too unstable. There was even an incident in the media of a kid attacking his mother because she pulled the power on his Halo 3, but I’m sure there are many other issues there aside from video games. A huge part of that is the media, they hype it all up. Video games get blamed for a lot of it which I find very dumb. Check out how many copies of that game have been sold, the number of offenders/copies sold really don’t add up.

I believe there has to be an understanding between the parent and child. Most parents don’t seem to understand video games and probably don’t want to, which is a shame. If the child was into an acceptable sport such as hockey, soccer, baseball etc. the parents would most likely listen.

The parents may see their child sitting in front of that screen and think he’s doing nothing! Nothing at all! Which is half true… I have friends who now live in California that I grew up with in Juneau. With the whole distance thing we can’t exactly go out and do something. Instead we jump on World of Warcraft at least once a week to “hang out”. It keeps communication going and the friendships alive. But this also goes with my friends here in Juneau, all my friends either go to school full time or work full time so outside of the weekends I can still see them online and hang out with them there.

Growing up, my parents were always cool with my gaming, as long as I got my chores and school work done. But the difference may be with my parents. My dad has played computer and video games as long as I remember, my mom was really into Nintendo back in the day.

Games are just like anything else: “in moderation”. Get your responsibilities done then jump on a game for a hour or two, then go outside and do something. Of course, there will be those days you will be in front of that screen for a full day on the weekend… No big deal, it’s not everyday.

Now parents, let’s say you have read this and may agree with some points but not others. If your child wants that uber super new awesome game that’s out, Google it! Now, don’t just look for the NC17 rating, look deeper. Look for a reviewer who rips the game apart and has pictures of what is really going on; also check to see if the game has parental settings. Game makers are getting smart and adding in settings to eliminate blood, gore, and profanity.

If you are afraid of other people online stalking your child through his/her Xbox, you can turn off voice communication. There are so many parental settings on games now, so do your research! Never judge a book by its cover.. or commercially set rating:)

~Micah

Now this isn’t really game related but has everything to do with the console.

In November a patch for the Xbox 360 was released allowing users to play DivX and XviD video clips.  I was shocked to say the least but ran with it.  I plugged in my external hard drive and bam!  It worked! I had my video library right there, easy to access.

I am waiting for the day when you can connect your 360 up to a network drive, yeah yeah I know theres the Windows Media Player 11 link deal, but that is just horrible… buggy oh… so buggy!

In December a patch for the PS3 was released to do the same thing.  But I am unclear if PS3 has any kind of computer - system link… if they do they will have a serious advantage over 360.

-Micah