ArcaniA: Gothic 4

6.5/10

Gothic 4 is an action RPG in a fantasy setting. The game is similar to the Elder Scrolls(Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim) series but is more simple. And actually, that's one of its better qualities. When I play an Elder Scroll game I spend a lot of time trying to optimize my character  and the game is so big I have the feeling of being  lost. In contrast Gothic 4's main quest takes you through a series of sandboxes each with its own optional quests. Also there is no classes or races, just a series of skill lines where you distribute points, its straight forward and unless you distribute evenly all your points you wont regret your choices (and even then I think the game will be enjoyable). I did get enough points before the end of the game to max lightning and fire skills, and put enough points in a melee weapon skill line to be able to swing my weapon continuously. I would equip two-handed swords with bonus magic damage, it was a lot of fun.

It seems that some quests have alternate endings which is great. Also there are many secret areas. I found some that were very hard to find and other times the game would tease me but I would not know how to get to a room.

The graphics are beautiful on my 5 years old PC, I just don't remember playing games with such great scenery.

The story and voice acting are what pull this game down in the rating. Its the typical prophecy/destiny story. At the end I was a bit bored and because of the way the story unfolds, I was thinking "OMG, can I kill the final boss already? Stop making me run around". 

Some error must have been made while recording the voice actors initially because sometimes the voice of an NPC changes. Its as if they patched their mistakes but sometimes had to rely on a different voice actor.

Also sometimes there are bugs when you speak to the NPCs in a specific order, they'll talk to you about something an other NPC has told you yet. 

The AI is stupid. It pretty much just charges at you. Often ranged mobs will trow missiles at you but will hit the mellee mobs which charge you.

It is a pretty, fun, relaxing game if you can get over its flaws but I can't just recommend it to everyone. It took me 24 hours to finish the game.

Patch 2.0.x Breaths New Life into Diablo 3 Before Expansion

I still remember that time I put 200+ hours in my Demon Hunter without making any progress in inferno. When the game came out the balance was way off and drops rates were abysmal. They tried to fix it, but it was too little too late. I thought that they could never fix the game ... but they did.

Skills have been revamped, again. Now drops are more personalized and legendaries drop about every hours. Legendaries scale with your level when they drop so there is now much more diversity. These new items may affect the effectiveness of some skills which might lure you out of cookie cutter builds depending on what you find. This makes the game much more interesting.



For example I found a level 60 Kridershot with my Demon Hunter. Elemental Arrow became a generator an I built my character around it. And if I find something else that seems better I might change everything again.

It is really too bad that they did not release a patch like this earlier. In previous iterations it seemed like there was just no place in inferno for casual players because of all the time that was required. The only ones who reached the top were bots and no-lifers.

Anyways, the game is fun now, so I've been playing. Everything I find now will be useless in the expansion, but I'm having fun so I don't care.

Alien Breed: Impact

6/10

A good third person shooter horror game with hostile aliens.

Good:

• Upgradable guns!
• Sci-fi Horror setting.
• Secret areas
• A few boss battles..

Bad:

• Few alien types.
• Repetitive sometimes
• The character takes for ever to pickup items or login in computers. (its part of the horror setting but its annoying after 5 minutes into the game)
• The controls to trow grenades could have been better.

The game is not remarkable but it was ok fun while it lasted. The campaign was just 7 hours (and I was slow, maybe someone else would finish it in a few hours on the first try). No regret there as I would have been bored of the same mechanics if it lasted any longer. Also the game was bought very cheap on Steam.

Thoughts on Steam OS

We are at a crossroad in the history of gaming. Valve recently made announcements about new 3 exiting technologies/products.

One is an amazing controller. I have no idea if it will work but its good to see a company taking risks and try to innovate.

The second is an open source operating system for gaming (Steam OS) and the third is that multiple companies will be able to compete and sell "Steam Machines", pre-built PCs for the living room which run Steam OS.

If Steam OS fails, it might scar open source gaming for ever. But if it can only survive long enough, it might become a very solid alternative to consoles. Here I will weight the pros and cons try to hightlight their implications.

The Are Few Games For Steam OS

This is true for any new console which do not have backward compatibility with its previous iteration (like Xbox One, which is actually the third generation Xbox ...). If there isn't any big title for the platform it might seriously hurt the platform's market. It needs some big titles, some exclusive titles if possible.

Kids And Ordinary People Might Be More Attracted To Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft

These are big company with established brands and marketing. Chances most people will not know what steam machines are and will be scared away by their diversity and complexity.

No More Generations

Generally, backward compatibility works great on PC. I can still play Diablo 1 if I want. That's why I feel better building my collection of games on steam rather than on some consoles.

Heartstone Beta is lots of fun

8/10

Right now I play arena casually. My long term plan is to play arena until I have all the expert cards which are not legendary and then salvage my goldens cards and see if I can get the most usefull legendaries.

Get it now.

Watch live heartstone games online.

Amazing plays

Starbound is lots of fun

This place has a dungeon with a  matter generator next to the spawn, in the alpha sector.

Saints Row: The Third

7/10

This over the top third person shooter, disorganized crime simulator and sandbox game delivers suitable doses of entertainment, provided that you can forget anything you know about morality (spoiler: its pretty hard to go from point A to point B without any collateral damage, you might as well enjoy it!).

Lots of customization, lots of crazy challenges, the campaign is completely insane. I did not play a Grand Theft Auto (GTA) game since GTA3,  but these games seem tame and boring in comparison to SR3.

Crazy, unbridled,  fun ... and lots of virtual murder and damage to private property. Don't let your kids play this! But its okay to enjoy in private if you are open minded and know the difference between fiction and reality.