I listen to video game music way too often. You should too!
Dracula’s Castle: Castlevania SotN
Pictionary title theme
Dr. Wily’s Castle: Mega Man 2
I was just reading some about the new flex raiding system coming to Patch 5.4 in WoW. This is really one of the more unexpected changes to come to the game in quite a while. Raids as a matter of practice now for quite a while, are a very locked-in experience, with a set number of people, doing a set number of roles in order to down a boss. Not since 40-man raiding, where only 27 would raid and the rest be afk, has the endgame of WoW been so flexible. This seems to be a great boon to the guild that can still run 25-man raids, but maybe not as bleeding edge style as some guilds, or at times find themselves short a member or 8. While I agree with the addition of this new difficulty, sitting comfortably in between normal raiding and LFR, I do have some questions and concerns about the difficulty.
Now I get the bosses will scale to accommodate the number of players participating in the raid, but what is the composition that one wants to take into one of these raids. Say I have 16 players, ready to go, but 3 are tanks, 6 are healers and 7 are DPS. How do I know if one of the tanks needs to turn to their DPS spec? Is this a per-boss thing one has to worry about? The real solution to this is something I would look to LFR for. Lock down the number of tanks at a very manageable 2, no matter the actual raid size, then maybe lock down the number of healers needed to 4 or 5. Thanks to the partial homogenization of classes in WoW, there should be a way to make sure no crucial healing assignment is left out. Especially if Blizzard goes the LFR route and makes some of the more certain-death mechanics easier to deal with, not punishing those who stand in the fire so much. One question that will certainly dovetail into any Flex Raid encounter when it comes to healing is also the problem of B-Rez’s. How many will a Flex Raid have? Will it change based on raid size? I imagine it has to, but those numbers will have to be intensely tested in the PTR.
One thing that I have seen on the internet since Flex Raiding was announced is the argument from some raiders that they will feel compelled to do this type of raiding, on top of their normal raids, since Flex Raiding will be on a separate lockout. Some have even said they would prefer Flex Raids to be on the same lockout, so they don’t feel like they have to do both. Now I get the idea that world firsts in raids are competitive, but very few guilds are actually in those hunts, and they are the ones who will “have to” take advantage of every lockout they can do. On top of that, I suspect those guilds would actually like the idea of an extra lockout, as those who compete seriously typically love to compete. Most people who feel like Blizzard is imposing on them by adding another form of raiding needs to seriously rethink things. How little control does one have on their own life that they cannot self-regulate how much of a game they play? If that is the case, Blizzard adding Flex Raiding on a separate lockout is really the least of their worries.
Overall, I do think it’s a good idea for Blizzard to include this system in WoW. Too many 25-man’s probably suffer when they are missing a few people, and this allows for a very fair compromise. While you may not get the full powered normal raiding gear, you still get to raid, and not worry about having to beg your raid to find friends that can actually keep up with you.
When I am writing, or playing games where I hate the music, I often search around for music I would prefer to listen to, often from other video games. Here are some good ones you should be listening to today.
Pokemon Stadium: Super Smash Bros Melee
Heartache: Persona 4
Fisherman’s Horizon: Final Fantasy VIII
Captain America: Marvel Vs. Capcom
After finishing Persona 4 Golden for the second time, my lost love of Japanese RPG’s was suddenly awakened. Granted, I started a new playthrough of P4G also, but I craved something new, something in that genre I had not really sunk my teeth into in so long. Despite craving something new, I still craved the smart writing, well developed battle system and contemporary setting of Persona. So instead of going back to another medieval-inspired JRPG, I simply went to the PSN store and downloaded Persona 3 Portable (P3P). Did it help foster my new love for the Persona series, as well as keep me engrossed in the JRPG genre? Yes, yes it did.
P3P is the third version of Persona 3 to be released. Coming out twice on the PS2, and this time on the lesser-powered PSP, some differences were bound to crop up. Before going on, it is important to note that I have never played the other two versions of Persona 3, only read about the differences. The basics of Persona 3 are still there, such as the exploration of the dungeon Tartarus and the Social Links first made famous in the original Persona 3 return. However, instead of directly controlling the main character in the field, a smaller, often one-screen long version of an area is shown. A cursor appears when in these non-combat areas, and you use the cursor to interact with people and objects in the environment. It appears this was a technical limitation of the PSP, and considering the system power, was most likely a good one. Even if the protagonist could have been rendered like how he was in the PS2 versions, it would not have looked nearly as good, and would have had insane loading times. However, it must be considered that although you are not running around and directly interacting with the characters as the protagonist, nothing is lost in the content given, just a sense of immersion is broken.
The content one experiences, as hinted at above is not cut in anyway from the original title. Every social link is still available, and the personal tales told as the protagonist gets to know the eclectic cast of P3P are very well told with satisfying resolution to each. While at times it may take a few too many wasted days to get to a social level up (especially as you approach max social rank), never do you feel you are slogging your way through pointless content. Every conversation in P3P is important, and has a place in this very alive and vibrant city. Even side-activities, used to raise your three secondary stats of Courage, Academics and Charm seem fun. Although you never get to see the activity being performed directly, it helps to flesh out an already fleshed out world, as well as leading to other worthwhile options in who you can hang out with. Continue Reading
On the 21st of May, Microsoft announced the much anticipated next entry in the Xbox line. With this reveal, all three major console manufacturers have drawn their lines in the sand as to what their idea of the next generation will look like. This current console generation has gone on now for the better part of a decade, and honestly games look great. We have a wide swath of titles out now, for various price points. While Triple A gaming seems to remain and brown and gray, shooter-filled hell by and large; one can look across the entirety of the gaming landscape to find a plethora of titles more just as diverse as any point in gaming history. So with this generation featuring such a range, why do we even need new gaming consoles? Can graphics really get better without driving the already high cost of game development into the stratosphere? What new features do we need on our consoles? Which ones need to be improved? Let’s take a look at each next generation offering and see what each company has put out there thus far, and what it needs to do going forward. Continue Reading
Just hanging out before work, where I will most likely continue to hang out, thought I would share a few great video game tracks that you should be listening to.
Overworld music from Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Time to Make History from Persona 4 Golden
Gothic Neclord from Suikoden 2
I have a new idea about 2K Marin, the studio behind the recently confirmed to still be alive game The Bureau: XCOM Declassified. This studio is apparently tasked with making games, while usually high in quality, don’t really need to exist. I base this solely off the other title 2K Marin made, Bioshock 2. I have not gotten very far in the Firaxis XCOM: Enemy Unknown yet, I am only up to the Alien Base mission, but it is definitely one of the best games that came out last year. 2K bringing the focus back from the stellar strategy title to the shooter that garnered such a vicious reaction from fans is certainly a gambit. This could lead to brand confusion, diluting the great name Firaxis worked hard to revitalize. The game itself could simply suck and also torpedo the possibility for other strategy games. However, if this game can prove itself to be worth the development time, it can succeed in maybe bringing shooter fans over to trying some turn-based strategy. “Oh you like this XCOM game? You know there is another one that came out last year…” That will be a glorious day. In the mean time, here is the trailer for The Bureau: XCOM Declassified:
-Ray Grohosky
