So last week I introduced you guys to my variant of Caw-Blade (A concoction I dreamed up along with my colleagues Scourge and Jeff Weeks), which you can find HERE if you need a refresher. This week I’m going to talk in a little more detail about the actual matches I played.
Author Archives: incontrol88
About incontrol88
PTQ Barcelona Report, Part I
This past weekend was the Pro Tour Qualifier for Pro Tour Barcelona in Rochester, NY, the nearest one to my hometown. My best attempt at a Modern deck on my own personal resources was a janky U/G Turbofog creation that I would have been ashamed to even register at a PTQ, but when a buddy of mine dropped a U/W Standard Spirit Delver deck in my lap I decided to see what I could do about reformatting the deck and throwing down in the Modern format.
I’ll probably run this report in two pieces just to save your precious attention spans. This section will be all about the deck I chose to play and why I made the decisions I made, and the next section will be about what decks I faced and how well I did, what I would have done differently, etc.
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The Old Republic: Diary 2
Back when I gave my first impressions of The Old Republic (SWTOR, for short) I promised frequent updates on the status of the game, my character and everything in between. The major roadblock to that, unfortunately, is what I perceive to be a brick wall I hit around level 40.
A brick wall of CUTENESS that is...
But we’ll get to that later. First, as promised, a look at what’s been changing since the last time I wrote on this topic:
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Indie Spotlight: Andrew Smith and Spilt Milk Studios
In an effort to promote and explore the wonderful world of Indie game developement, The Community will be providing an Indie spotlight with developers of games we’ve discovered and enjoyed, or even just developers who catch our eye for other reasons. We’ll try to bring you a little insight into the thought process behind truly innovative game design and what different studios have to offer. This week, we kick off the series with Spilt Milk Studios’ Andrew Smith.
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Review: The Dream Machine
Ever wonder what makes old-time sci-fi shows like Twilight Zone so good? They’re visually dated and lack the flash and special effects of some newer programs, but something about the Zone just gets under your skin and stays relevant as the years go by. I think it has something to do with that aspect of the mundane woven into every episode that really speaks to the diehard sci-fi fan. The idea that just around the next corner in that simple, boring little town you live in you could be transported to a world of wonder and mystery is enough to keep the average viewer paying rapt attention.
See Above: World of Wonder
This is the essential appeal of The Dream Machine, a point-and-click adventure being serialized for the Internet by Cockroach Inc., brainchild of Swedish developers Anders Gustafsson and Erik Zaring. For those unfamiliar with the genre, this is a throwback to Monkey Island-style games, where you’re presented with a backdrop and a limited number of items, objects and/or people to interact with. Some combination of the available items will allow you to solve a puzzle, remove an obstacle or progress to a different area. TDM has a little something extra working for it, however, particularly in the art aesthetic and storytelling focus it’s chosen to adopt.
Asura Is Angry. I guess.
Asura’s Wrath is an upcoming title from CyberConnect2, the studio most notable for their work on the .Hack series. My feelings about the demo are mixed. What intrigues me is that I can’t seem to label this game. It feels like equal parts God of War hack-’n-slash adventure and fast-paced side-scrolling shooter with a heaping portion of quazi-cutscenes (think Indigo Prophecy) thrown in for good measure.
The Old Republic: Impressions
In high school, I had my first brush with MMORPG gaming when some friends of mine started talking about a game called World of Warcraft. From my friends’ stories alone the genre called to me like some digital siren. As a proponent of depth and interaction in gaming, I was fascinated by the idea that all of the main characters were people like me. The concept that I could forge real allies across continents and group with them to slay dragons and demons took hold in me in a very real way. The monkey had lodged itself on my back, and it was clad in the coolest armor!
This Monkey is a Metaphor for Addiction
Joes to Pros: M:TG Drafting Tips
In this edition of Joes to Pros, we’ll take a look at some basic principles of Draft-format Magic that should improve your overall performance and take you from the bottom of the pack to the prize pool in no time.
Pictured: Prize Pool
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The VGAs — Rant Follow-Up
If you listened to my rant HERE on the Paranerds Podcast, you know I think the VGAs didn’t really get a fair shake. Its important to note that this is only the 9th annual event, meaning a decade ago we didn’t even have a mainstream award show for games. That being said, I think we could all stand to be a little more appreciative of the attention our medium is getting, even if every pretentious ass with a Twitter account thinks they could have run it better.
I'ma let you finish
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The King of RPGs
Sometimes you see something on the Internet you just can’t let go. Some troll or noob will say something so flagrantly wrong that you can’t just dismiss it as webjunk and move on. Something inside you just calls for justice.
That’s how I felt when I saw this IGN article touting the Super Nintendo as the King of RPGs. This isn’t a matter of opinion. The article is just wrong. But I’d have been willing to let that pass as a nostalgic statement or an expression of bias based on a penchant for Nintendo products. The thing that got me was how the writer justified her choice by saying the key element to RPGs is the gameplay, which is just patently false with no room whatsoever for interpretation. In fact, I’d put gameplay at the bottom of a list of factors contributing to a successful RPG.
^^Not the king.
