Dragon Nest

 Been playing a little Dragon Nest, This game is really neat. It's just a really fun game to pick up and play for an hour or so and kill a little time. It's full action combat mixed with RPG elements makes for a good time. The graphics are colorful and rich...Read the rest here

RANDOM GAMING RANT!!!

  Why do game publisher's keep making new platforms for the PC, like Origin, Arc games and on and on, why not just use the already known,trusted and used platform, Steam. I have almost gotten to a point where I won't even buy a title unless it is on steam. That's where all my friends play, that's where all my games are, so why have to install a new piece of crappy, underdeveloped (for the most part) launcher. Ok, I feel better - END RANT!!!

The Elder Scrolls Online.

  Was super excited about this one finally shedding it's subscription fee and going buy to play. I kinda just fee that's the way they should have gone to begin with. Make your money off of the box sales and a light cash shop, but I am getting way off track here. I have been playing a lot of this great game since the change over. Let me tell you, this game is...... Continue reading here

In the middle of doing a " Been Playing" of The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited - Stay tuned!!!

This is how we do!!!

Free to Play or Pay to Win?

  When  MMO's go from a subscription based business model to a free to play (F2P from here on out) model, there is often speculation and fear that the game will become "Pay to win"(P2W from here on out)... But, what exactly is pay to win and what is not? There are many different feelings on this topic, and to me, the answer seems to ring clear that it is a simple matter of opinion. It does seem, however, to be something that is contextual to the individual game, that makes it even harder to pinpoint a clear answer. I am going to discuss some ways that I feel might be pay to win and things that I feel are not, as well as others that get close and blur the lines a bit.

  For starters and probably most obvious are certain pay to win tactics such as (but not limited to), allowing players to buy the highest level gear, damage buffs that they couldn't otherwise earn in game, or making the experience way too boring or grindy unless you pay. Those are the obvious, but there are other examples I have seen that don't blatantly give you an advantage, but I still consider to be P2W. In example, if a paying player in your game can go from level 1 to 60 in 12 hours but it takes a non paying player 48 hours, that, to me, is P2W. I have noticed that some gaming companies think that it's OK to put almost anything in the shop as long as you can earn their pay currency in game,like maybe you can buy tokens of money from other players for in game currency. That doesn't always pan out. If it takes to long to earn enough in game to afford the paid for tokens, that's pay to win in my book.

  Now not all is bad in the free to play world, there have been many games I feel were not P2W but others say they are. To me, things like pets, mounts, small experience boosts, cool weapon skins and costumes, even some combat weapons and armors are OK as long as they are not as strong as what can be earned in the game, player housing is OK to put in the shop for purchase, as long as housing does not play an integral role to the play-ability of the title.

  In closing, just because a game has items to purchase for real money, does not mean that it is Pay to win, However with that said some gaming titles need to be careful as they tread ever so close to the dreaded line of F2P and P2W.  This is a relatively new business model and I am sure we will see many more titles both fail and excel before they get it right. What do you guys think?



 

Tera Rising

Just posted a rundown of Tera Rising, check it out in the "Been Playing's" bar to the left!!

Rift

  Currently in the process of doing a run down on this great, f2p MMORPG, which you can get for free here -> Rift. Stay tuned!

Risen 3: Titan Lords

Check out my thoughts on Risen 3: Titan Lords here!

5 Video games that should have been amazing, but wasn't.

  Sometimes there is a game on the horizon that you feel is just going to be totally awesome, but they turn out not to be. Not saying they are bad or anything, they are just simply not as ridiculously great as one would imagine. Let's take a look at 6 of them here. Now, these are not in any particular order, so don't take this as a "top" list:

      1. Rift (PC)

  This title really had heads turning. I remember everyone saying, this would be the killer of that other huge MMORPG that shall remain unnamed here. Instead it stayed far too true to the established to make a true name for itself. While there are a couple glimmers of uniqueness here and there, it was just not enough reason for you to jump ship and start all over in another MMORPG and do nearly the same stuff, albeit "reskinned". 

      2. Phantasy Star Universe (Multiple Platforms)

  What need be said of this game? The whole thing was just uninteresting, maybe? Phantasy Star has always been a great RPG series, perhaps if this would've been the first of the whole Phantasy Star Online series, it wouldn't have disappointed so badly. However, It wasn't...so it did disappoint a bit.

      3. Dragon Age II (Multiple Platforms)

  This was a mess, IMHO. While the game itself wasn't so bad, the contrast from the 1st game to this one is so different. The storytelling alone made it feel almost like a totally different game series than the original. The gameplay also made it feel like some other company made a cheap sequel to Origins.  

      4. Diablo III (Multiple Platforms)

  Remember I said that these games weren't bad games, just not as great as expected. This game falls perfectly into that. The game is genuinely solid, it's just so much different than it's predecessor that it's almost scary. I mean graphically (not that it's bad), limited skill customization and odd classes seem to be what stand out for me.

      5. Risen 2: Dark Waters (Multiple Platforms)

  Linear story,check. Bland combat, check. Very little exploration,check. This game took every thing that I even remotely liked about the original and took it away. The game is still fun, it just wasn't nearly as cool as most thought it would be.

  So there you have it, just a few of the many games that I feel could be on this list.

Do you agree with any of the games on this list? How would your list look and compare to this one? Let me know in the comments below!