Annnnnd we’re back! Hopefully everyone had a nice couple of days with family, friends, or solitude. I thought I would give you all a quick roundup post of what we’ve been doing to kick things off again on the blog.
We picked up a few games for Christmas that we’ve already begun to work through.
- Saints Row 3 – crazier than the first two and lots of fun
- Rayman Origins – so fast, so zany
- Disney Universe – cute and puzzly
- Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 – graphically improved
- Mario Kart 7 – Graev already had it, but I got it and love it! We have a racing community that you’re welcome to join. Leave a comment if you’re interested.
All of them are fantastic, and we’ll bring you more in-depth write-ups on them later. The big one to note is Saints Row 3. We’re going to play through the entire game together via online co-op (we each have a copy). That’s not all, though. We’re going to play through as Michael Weston and Sam Axe, the characters from Burn Notice. Any opportunity we get, we’re going to act like them and of course our characters we made look like them. It should be lots of fun. Look for it on our gaming stream in a few days.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
We’re both level 30 now. While we’re not leveling as fast as a lot of other people, we’re at least enjoying the story and can say that we’ve tried to do most every quest. SWTOR, in general, is enjoyable. I think everyone playing can vouch for the obvious issues. There are blatant bugs and a few mechanics really need to be retooled or polished. For example, equipping mods and comparing gear is tedious and the whole PvP badge system is convoluted — a complete overhaul of PvP rewards is likely imminent if they’re at all aware of the problem.
My favorite planet has been Tatooine. The first couple of planets were really restricting in terms of where you could go. Everything in SWTOR feels linear, but having the big open desert in front of you instead of a path surrounded on both sides by mountains is comforting. Tatooine is also the iconic Star Wars planet. It draws upon a lot of nostalgia.
That’s all for now! I’m going to start working on a few posts I’m making before the New Year.
Still on the fence about Star Wars. I’m not a big “story” guy and nothing I have watched has just grabbed me and PvP’n to level doesn’t appear to be a very fun option to what I have read.
My brother is really trying me to get into it, and I may give it a shot just to hang out with you bums again! ahahhaha.
So I got into SWTOR beta, during the stress-test weekends, and honestly I didnt like it. I had played all of an hour and never even tried to play the 2nd weekend. But with the holidays, I knew I was getting some cash/gift cards, and I ran out of single-player games (Skyrim was boring after the 3rd character, Trine 2 was temporary). I delved into reviews of SWTOR and read several sites (like K&G!) and knowing that a free trial wasnt coming anytime soon, I decided to plunk down the $60.
And I’ve gotta say, I’m happy with my purchase so far. I literally feel like I’m playing another Mass Effect game, that’s single-player, with a chat box. Oh yeah, and there are light-sabers. It’s really an ideal game for me, with the companions, the crew skills, and the fact I can solo 95% of everything (I’m not a big socializer). I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my Jedi Shadow, but now I’m putting some toes into the dark side and just started a Sith Warrior (to be a Marauder). The graphics are definitely lacking compared to several of the latest big name MMO’s, but I feel like it can cater to a lot more platforms, not requiring the latest i7, SLI setup.
It runs flawlessly on my Q6600 with a GTX 280, and I have everything cranked up and ini tweaks/Nvidia control panel pushing 4x AA on top of it all. It’s definitely not innovative with the way you play and quest, but it does have excellent stories with tons of voice acting, a very polished UI, very interesting concepts (like companions/crews), and what feels like a massive world.
I’m only 5 days into it, but I literally can’t stop playing. I have ADD when it comes to MMO’s as well, having literally played everything on the planet after I kicked the WOW habit. I might have a struggle here in a year kicking the SWTOR habit.
Hope a ‘predictions for 2012’ post is among those you’re working on! 🙂
Saints Row 3 is incredible. I’m over 90 hours on it and me and my friend still co op all the time because just logging in and HAVING FUN (what a concept) in that game almost never gets old.