Stepping into Kingsmouth- TSW

I'm always late to the party, heh. Yesterday I took the plunge and grabbed The Secret World. I tried one of the last beta weekends but still didn't get a real idea how much I liked the game, I figured I could hear impressions of others before I made a decision.

I've read a lot of good reviews and posts about the game. I am really enjoying myself. It was a bit confusing when starting and I even got lost a few times but I'm grasping things now. I ran around with only one skill, wondering why I was having so much trouble, blood magic. Then I realized that I needed to go and grab something else, blades was my second choice. Loving it.

For the most part I kill things with ease, a good bit of healing to pull me through and some fantastic AE damage. I'm learning as I go and I've only died once, lol. I went with the Templars, I thought that would be an interesting choice, all three factions look very appealing though.

I'd have to say the things I like most are the bits of flexibility. Wearing whatever you want is always awesome, choosing skills and sets to your liking is awesome too, though confusing at times as what will be good. I was going to go with a build already listed but they didn't really appeal to me.

I like the world. It really has a unique feel for an MMO. Gritty and dark, as I have mentioned before. The graphics and little bits of detail in the art are just wonderful. Though the graphic choices are a bit stunted, really tweaking things out isn't much of an option. Sometimes I get some really horrible frame rates in some areas, most of the time I'm fine. Loading.... I'm still not enjoying some of the long load times. I can't complain, there really isn't much loading and I suppose I do a lot of waiting on screens in EQ and SL.

Nothing is cutting edge but it is new and different enough to really be enjoyable. I don't know how end game is, if it will just be another grind like most games, I hope this is different. But don't we always? The game has a lot of potential and it is quite fun. If you love zombies and creepy stuff, it's awesome. Right up my alley, how could I not play it? Kingsmouth is really a very cool area, that's where I am now and it really has set the tone for me.

I'm taking my time snooping around, helping people sometimes, people help me sometimes (OMG), just really soaking it all up and not rushing through it. There are a few things that bother me, like lack of direction in some areas. If you're going to light up something on the map, please tell me what the hell it is I'm looking for.

All in all, expect to be hearing more about TSW in my posts this week. I do have a lot going on but I can't resist getting some time in TSW. Dire had to pull me off the computer last night, I was having way too much fun to go to bed, obviously, lol.

Safe adventures, and look out behind you! Prepare to be crit by a wall of screenshots...

A Glimpse of TSW

This weekend I tried out TSW beta. I kind of got lazy with it so this is far from a a review or even an impression, a glimpse maybe. Seems a decent game, awesome-gritty atmosphere, great music, decent graphics. The cut-scenes were very fun to watch. I didn't get very far though.

It wasn't that I didn't like the game I just had other stuff I had to do over the weekend and then when my free time came around I had other things I wanted to get done in my other games. But I did manage to sit down and enjoy one session in TSW.

It took me awhile to get the game going, which didn't help. I ran into an authentication error which was fixed by running a repair. Before that the launcher bogged down my computer so badly I had to reboot several times, never seen that happen with a game. Everything was unresponsive. Other times I tried it kept telling me the game was already running. More reboots. Finally I got the show on the road. Load times are a bit slow, I suppose when I'm playing WoW on a more often basis everything seems to loads slow, lol.


I loved the intro for the Templars, I was told that the Dragons was awesome too but I didn't get back in to try it. There is a back story and you come to see how you obtained your powers, very much liked that! The scenes were really interesting. However, there were a lot of them, I think I did more watching than playing.


Combat was okay, nothing spectacular, nothing gripped me. I only got as far as using a shotgun. Bang, bang, they [my three skills] all do something different. But since I cannot die in this tutorial let's just faceroll? At some point I realized I couldn't die in the beginning and that was good because I didn't want to ruin the story. I also received a very powerful heal, I don't know if it is permanent or if it scales once you get out into the actual game. It was nice having it though. 


Many, many mobs ran at me at once, sort of annoying as all I could see were hordes of zombies and baddies covering my screen. A bit annoying and chaotic. I had a few NPC's with me but the mobs seemed to rather go for me. I did like the fact that I didn't HAVE to target a mob, I could aimlessly shoot and hit one of them. I think that's where the hordes of mobs came in. More often than not I would be shooting mobs across the room.


Will I pre-order? I'd like to, sort of, but I think I'm going to pass this time. Those pre-order items are so very tempting! I'm very glad I got the chance to try this game out in beta, I've been following it for about the last three years, almost since I started blogging. It's a really neat game, something with a different feel. I'm going to wait, most likely... Or, you know, I could crack and buy it next week. I don't have the best track record, lol. For now lets say I'm holding off.


Other things I liked? I liked the clothing. I also play SL and there you have such a vast about of clothes and looks, it is refreshing to be able to wear some more urban gear in an MMO. Backpacks, trench coats, plaid clothing- good stuff. 


The atmosphere, once again it was good. So good that I was creeped out when I went out later that evening, alone. The game left a good impression on me, not hugely innovative but very gripping when you combine the atmosphere, story and the world. I hope to play it more in the future, at some point. Now to the screenshots! I wish I had figured out that F11 was the screenshot button sooner, why don't these games all just use print screen?! Enjoy. 

Stay awhile and listen.... Diablo III

So, we finally got around to getting into Diablo 3. I have to say it is a pretty solid game. There are a lot of really good things about it. It's easy to jump in with friends and you can complete quest again, those which you've already finished (as many times as you like). Flags in town (when grouped) will port you directly to your friend, very handy. Town portal is now a spell which you can use at your leisure. "Your bags full? Think it's time to sell yet?', "Yeah my bags are full, I think it's a good time to sell. " *cast town portal*....*cast town portal*


The game still has a dark, gritty feel to it. I like the graphics, the style, the characters and the armor. Many people complained about the females, such as the DH but I find they [DH] remind me a bit of Sylvanas  Windrunner from WoW, edgy and dark. The music is true to the Diablo series too. There are new additions to fun things like the fact you can dye your armor, in Act 2. And professions, check out the link I just threw up, they are very interesting and engaging. You can make some really great stuff!

The skill system is very interesting and flexible, especially when you add runes to your skills. What's a rune? You gain these each level and tack them onto an existing ability. There are also racial abilities you start gaining at level ten, I like that.

It feels weird playing Diablo 3 online all the time, sort of. Personally, I like online games, I suppose I like knowing other people are out there, that it is a living, breathing world even when I log off. I'm really enjoying the always online deal. I've been so happy to chit-chat with friends and jump into games with my family. Tonight I might surprise a few friends and jump in and say hi, lol.

My brother is playing, my son, Dire and I. So we've been teaming up and sharing armor and drops. My brother has been making us all gear, I've been giving him a lot of blues to break down to help out. He's really excited about things like that and it has been so long since we've all played a game together I don't mind holding off on a prof to help him. We all played the previous Diablo games together over the years but I was surprised when he sent me a text asking if we were playing, he's over the moon with the game. My son is pretty smitten too. Me? I like it a lot, it is something I can see myself playing for a long time, especially since there is no subscription fee.

What's so great about another Diablo game? Sometimes it is nice to just hack and slash stuff. Sometimes it is nice to team up with a few people and not worry about the holy trinity to get going. It's nice not to worry about meters and just kill things. Diablo has a lot of neat stats like bonuses to gold, xp and magical item drops. There is room for how you want to play and not have someone tell you how you're 'doin' it wrong'. It's simple, fun and easy to get in and out of. It is easy to hook up with friends. I love that. plus you can always grab an NPC, go solo whatever you want. You don't have to play with anyone. Hell, you can even pause the game in single player. I can't recall ever being able to pause an online game. D3 is a different sort of creature, that is for sure.

I've been working on a Demon Hunter. I'm sure I'll play all the other classes but for now I'm working on her as my main. Dire finally got in last night for the first time, he's a Barbarian. The first night his computer took hours to do a scan and needed video driver updates, then the next our ISP had an outage, fun stuff! My Brother is a Barbarian also and my son is currently working on his third or so character but seems smitten with the Sorceress. I have to admit, both of those classes look so appealing, they all do. So, there is a lot of room for replay-ability with all the fun classes, IMO.

We haven't had a ton of problems with downtime but we've not always been playing at peak time. Yesterday evening we got kicked and a few times here and there but it really hasn't been too horrible for us. My brother was in the queue yesterday but he said it was only 27 or so and Dire plays so late at night that it isn't a problem at all.

Some tips before I go. Z zooms in on your screen, good for screenshots. The num pad will activate voice triggers for your character. Right click in the character screen before logging in to design your personal flag, left to look at your character more in-depth (stats, achievements, spin character around and so on). Print screen does take pics, in Win7 they are in the documents folder, took me a few to find them.

Oh, and we got to rescue Dekard Cain. I still haven't had him ask me to 'Stay awhile and listen'. Overall I'm pretty happy with how D3 turned out, a very solid game that is flexible and accessible. That's it for today. Hope everyone is having a blast in D3, feel free to add me if you like- Sablesix#1207.