Sideshow & Syrana

Alright, so we’re still in open beta right now, but I still get altitis.  I guess part of it is, I know my characters are going to get wiped so I don’t want to overinvest in them just yet.  Right now, it’s sort of like the trial period where I can putz around before making more permanent selections upon live.

And selection dates are coming up fast!

So, primarily I’ve been playing an Asmodian Spiritmaster.  This is similar to the WoW Warlock, so, y’know, pretty fitting for me.  Can I compare Asmodians to Horde? Meh, not really, no… at least not at this point.  Maybe somewhere down the road I can take a look at lore/war/oppression/whathaveyou parallels or something.

Now, the Asmodians are considered to be the dark, shadowy faction while the Elyos are bright and shiny.

….

I had to make one just to see it.  But I decided I needed to roll something different, so I went warrior.  The first random face that I got was this:

I’m sorry.  I cannot smash faces with a HEART ON MAH CHEEK. (continue reading…)

If you are just joining us or looking for a refresher: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6.

Generation 1: Darcy and … Children (continued)

Slowly, but surely, life returns to some semblance of normalcy within the Zalewski household.  Aerissa continues to blossom into a lovely young woman.  She continues to hone her writing and painting skills all while staying on the honor roll at school and working part-time at the bookstore.  She also has a few close friends that she hangs out with from time to time, such as her best childhood friend, Susy.  Now, Susy might seem like a sweet girl, but she’s a bit of a rebel.  Aerissa learned that the hard way when sneaking out after curfew.  Darcy was none too pleased to see her daughter returned home by squad car, but she was less punitive than Susy’s parents had been about the whole ordeal.

So as a compromise with Susy’s parents, Darcy was able to talk them into letting Susy still come to the house and hang out with Aerissa rather than complete grounding and isolation.  The girls don’t necessarily appreciate needing to be supervised, but it’s better than the alternative.

Darcy tried to spend as much time with her boys as she could.  Aerissa was growing up in her own right and didn’t need Darcy hovering over her all the time.  Xander and Caleb were still young, impressionable, and in need of guidance.  Having always enjoyed video games as well as books, Darcy often spends evenings playing video games against her sons.  Unfortunately, it seems that Xander enjoys these gaming sessions much more than his brother Caleb.  Xander is also a better sport about losing. (continue reading…)

So, it’s about time I showed my face around here. People still think I don’t exist. I thought I’d do a quick, basic review of the Aion Open Beta.

Overall the game is extremely well-polished. They seem to have done all of the required items (UI, AH, etc) correctly, which is really important. Your game could be awesome, but if the basics are done poorly (I’m looking at you Warhammer launch) it can ruin the experience.

(continue reading…)

I admit, I’m a visual person.  Detail, colors, images, etc. are things I pay a lot of attention to.  Now, I’m not saying that stunning graphics make or break a game, but if it’s not visually appealing to me…. it’s going to be a hard sell.  For those interested in checking out these virtual vacation photos, please do so after the cut.   Oh and to check out my two spirit pets.  (Of course I’m playing a Spiritmaster, it’s the closest thing to a Warlock!)

If you want more information on gameplay details, impressions, and the like… please be sure to check out Massive Nerd and SpoonCraft (to go straight to his videos, go here).

What can I say, I like to screenshot loading screens.

(continue reading…)

As some of you may know, probably from following me on Twitter, Sideshow and I pre-ordered Aion.  Unfortunately, we only did so recently and weren’t in the closed beta.  But! We were just in time for the start of the open beta, which was yesterday.

The Usual Suspects

Let me stop here for a sec.

1-This is not about jumping ship

2-I know I have more BlizzCon stuff to post yet

But as you probably know from reading me, I talk about what I want in my own style and get to it when I can (or when the mood strikes).  So, if there is something you are awaiting to read… all in due time, trust me.

Ok – for those of you still with me….

After defeating the server/we’ve been bombarded by people logging in at the same time/site boss yesterday to actually get inside Aion… I must say, I’m liking what I see so far.  And when I say “see,” for the purposes of this post, I’m referring to just scenery.  (Not that I don’t like other things, just… FOCUS!)

The scenery, is beautiful -no, breathtaking.  Sure, there are some areas that are dark and ugly, as intended.  But there are plenty of other areas that are absolutely gorgeous.  For example, the lake in the beginning Asmodian area – Negi’s Dock – beeeeeauuutiful.  Gorgeous.  Stunning. (continue reading…)

I thought this was adorable and disturbing all at the same time… so I screenshotted it for your viewing pleasure.

After having issues with Deadmines being broken last night, we finally got to finish it… like 4 hours after we first started.  You see, we went in there, we were ownin’ face, but all of us got disconnected from the server after the first boss.  We were returned to the beginning of the instance -reset- and proceeded to farm the same beginning trash mobs a few times as we would get repeatedly booted again.

Eventually we received error messages about Deadmines instance not found, so we gave up and did some other stuff.

Several hours later, we decide to try again – and were successful!

If you are just joining us or looking for a refresher: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.

Generation 1: Darcy and Brian (continued)

Brian’s death was quick and sudden and it racked the entire household.  After the bustle of police and paramedics, Darcy tried to ensure serenity throughout the household for the rest of the evening.  She hated that the children had been disturbed from their sleep and filled with grief.  Caleb, the youngest, appeared to be the least affected by Brian’s passing; presumably because he is so young.

Darcy took a few days off work to grieve, but insisted the children should still attend school and follow their normal routines.  Darcy spent many sleepless nights pacing throughout the house and seemingly unable to do much of anything because her mood was so terrible. (continue reading…)

Poor, poor Sideshow.  He has 1 female character out of all his characters.  While she was doing some banking in Stormwind, he randomly was whispered and the above conversation took place.  Actually, the initial whisper didn’t get captured.  After Sideshow checked out who this person was and they asked him to be his girlfriend, that’s when I demanded screenshots!

(Part 29) For a complete list of this series, please go here.

Aly stumbled back to the inn after several hours of enjoying Ratchet’s night life.  She hummed as she trudged up the stairs to her room.  She slipped into her room, and froze.  Something didn’t feel right.  Her heart thumped loudly in her chest as she mentally took inventory of where all of her weapons were.

“No need to panic, Alynedarra,” came a deep voice from the shadows of her room.

She blinked rapidly, her eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness.  She could make out the outline of a hooded figure in the corner near her bed.  She knew that voice…

“Please, sit.  We must discuss your assignment.”

Aly leaned back against the door, sliding to the floor.  What was her boss doing here? Was she taking too long? Was he about to collect on her? (continue reading…)