Monthly Archive for February, 2009

Games of February

gearsorwar2

I finished Gears of War 2 early this month. What a fun game. Intense action, great cover system, good shooting and what kept everything together for me, excellent pacing. As soon as you may think you’re getting bored by killing the same monsters over and over, they introduce pace-changer, like “Betty”, “Horsey” or the Brumak. I tried some multiplayer, but of course, got my ass handed to me on a plate. The different game mode available seems really fun thought, I think that’s a game I’m going to go back to for some multiplayer fun.

I didn’t mention it last month, but I’ve still playing World of Warcraft, grinding my way to level 80. I’m almost there! I dinged level 79 yesterday, so shouldn’t be long :) So far I really like what they did with Wrath of the Lich King. They have a lot of “special” and epic quests where you’re riding a Giant or have some kind of special vehicle. Lot of silly fun quests or pace changer.

sfivI picked up Street Fighter IV the day it came out. And I confirmed what I knew already: I suck at fighting games. But even if I suck, for some twisted reason, I really want to get better at that game. I don’t know if it’s the brand, the characters or fighting dynamic, but even if I get my ass beaten to a pulp, I always want to do another round.

TWL COD4 Season is well underway. So far my team (Team Omega, yeah we’re fancy like that, we give our teams Greek Letter names) is doing pretty good. We’re in 14th place, with a record of 3-1. To date, lot of great matches and lots of heart-pounding moments. A really good season so far. Oh and I also find it funny to note that I now have 500 hours of Call of Duty 4 recorded on my xfire profile. 500 hours! That’s what I call a 60$ well spent!

PvP: Competitive gaming is no fun

player 2Player 2: Hey, wanna play a bit of Left 4 Dead tonight?

Player 1: I have a COD4 Practice at 8h30 and a TWL Match a 9h30, but after that I’ll be able to play, sure.

Player 2: Practice? Match? LMAO, It’s a game and you talk about it like it’s a sport. It’s not like your going to sweat while playing a game…

Player 1: An activity or a game doesn’t need to be a sport to be competitive. There is Rubik Cube Competitions and we can both agree that this is far away from being a sport. Competitions doesn’t require sweat, they require skills.

Player 2: Rubik Cube competitions is just as dumb as game competitions, it takes the fun out of the game. Practices at fixed hour, a match schedule. Looks like playing is now a chore, an obligation. Looks like you play just because you have to.

player 1Player 1: Maybe you’re of the same opinion that playing Hockey or Football in a league can’t be fun. A game or a sports is designed to have fun playing them. We won’t argue about that right? But playing it competitively takes the fun too another level. It makes accomplishments much more rewarding. And, seriously, if you’re not playing competitively, you’re missing out.

My Take: It’s no secret, I’ve been playing Call of Duty 4 competitively, with the PMS|H2O Clan, for about a year now. So it’s sure that my take is similar to P1’s opinions. First off, let me say that Competitive Gaming IS fun. It’s exiting, stressful and rewarding. BUT, unlike P1, I don’t thing it’s for everyone and not for every game. Say you like hockey, you might play backyard hockey with your buddies, casually, just to have fun and that is fine. But if you really love hockey, you might start looking into playing in leagues and stuff. Same things goes for games. I certainly won’t play every game I like competitively. But those that I really love, those that I play almost everyday, why not test my skills against other really good player?

What’s your take?

Note: Graphics used are from Ctrl+Alt+Del. Go read it, it’s an awesome web comic!