Thursday 15 March 2012

Backyard Monsters

One game I enjoy playing is Backyard Monsters. Created by Kixeye, it is a RTS game (Real Time Strategy). Everything you do in this game gives you points towards your next level. Every building you build, every monster you create, every upgrade you do, every resource you bank, all goes towards your next level. Unfortunately for me, the higher I go in levels, the worse my computer is for loading the game. There ends up being so many things moving around that I lag really badly.
 As you can see from the picture above, this game is offered on facebook. It is also offered on Google+, however, I have noticed that the games differ between the two companies. (eg: no Inferno on Google+.)

Kixeye has a few other games to play as well, however, I have not tried them myself. To see what other games Kixeye offers, visit: http://www.kixeye.com/

Monday 20 February 2012

WoW pt.2

Alright, back to the subject! :) So I've explained some about races and classes, Now we'll talk about what you actually do when playing World of Warcraft, and what makes it so addicting.

When you first start out, you get the "starting quests," which basically shows you how to play the game. It teaches you some of the history behind each race, as long as you actually READ the quests. Most people read the quests the first time through with a character. Also, they will watch all the "video's" that go with the story line. After the first time, most people don't care anymore. Depending on which version you have, whether you have the first two, or the whole collection, depends on your level cap. With the full game, all expansions, the level cap is now 85. Original World of Warcraft the level cap is 60, Burning Crusade is 70, Wrath of the Lich King is 80, and Cataclysm brings us to 85. Also, if you are playing with only the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, then those who are playing Cataclysm, cannot help you out, as the world seen by those in Cataclysm is COMPLETELY different from Wrath of the Lich King. It is almost like a completely new game.

I realized this after getting the newest expansion for Christmas this last year. I had completely gotten rid of my old account, didn't even have WoW installed on my computer anymore, mostly because I had my son, and playing this game is difficult to do with a screaming baby around. I had more important things to do than play a game. So I left the game, said goodbye to all the friends I'd made and stopped playing for about two years. Now, I get the game back, with all the expansions, and I go to play my games, and was floored by how different the game was.

Now, to explain for those who don't know, MMORPG means Multi-Million Online Role Playing Game. As you can tell, from the words Multi-Million, there are Millions of players, online, who play this game. You can play Solo, however, Groups can be and are helpful in some situations.

There is also "Guilds" in the game, which is a bunch of players working together, helping each other out. When I first started playing, guilds were quite different, there was no rep (reputation) needed, and promotions were handled solely by the Guild Master (GM). The only time you needed to worry about rep, was with the different "factions" of the world. As well, Guilds never had levels before, as of Cataclysm, they now do, which gives you perks. A guild can get to a maximum level of 25. I'm still learning all the new changes in WoW.

They have Achievements, available to all players. If you finish certain achievements, you sometimes get some neat items, or a companion, or even a mount.

Here is a link to my character page, showing the mounts that I currently own: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/character/hakkar/Twylytejayde/mount feel free to look at the mounts to understand what I am talking about. You can look at those that have been collected, as well as those yet to be collected.

In order to get mounts of other races, you must have Exalted reputation with that race. It takes a lot of work, however it's worth it. Again, collecting mounts gives you achievements. I have earned one achievement for collecting 10+ mounts. I believe the next achievement is at 25 mounts, and then 50, possibly another at 100, however, I'm not exactly sure.


                                         Above: This flying carpet mount is available only to Tailors. In order to be able to use this mount, you must be a minimum of level 70, have your "flying license," and have a tailoring skill of 425. Any race may use, as long as they are tailors.


                                          Above: This Pinto Horse is usable by Alliance characters only, It is the mount for the Human race, so if you play anything other than a human character, you will need exalted reputation.


                                         Above: This Turquoise Raptor is a Horde only mount, and is the mount of the Troll race. If you want to have this mount you need to be either a Troll or have Exalted reputation with The Darkspear Trolls.


                                          Above: This is the mount of the Blood Elves. Personally my favorite mounts. The one I am showing here is a Swift Pink Hawkstrider, you must be a minimum of level 40 to ride this mount, and you must be Horde. If you are not a blood elf, you need exalted reputation to buy this mount.

Now, I've covered mounts, and reputation, as well as guilds. I'm not going into super detail, as I don't want to carry on on the subject of WoW for too many more posts. :)

Dungeons, also known as "Instances," are a group effort. There is now a way to "que" for dungeons, and battleground that was never available before. It use to be, if you wanted to run a dungeon, you would have to "spam" trade chat, or general chat, with something that looked like this: lvl 20 mage, LFG to do SFK! which in translation means: Level 20 mage, looking for group to do Shadowfang Keep. It used to take hours to get a group together to do one dungeon.

Now, there is an interface button where you can que to enter a dungeon, either by picking a specific dungeon, or by choosing a random dungeon. As you can see above, This is a picture of the Dungeon Finder, opened to pick a specific dungeon.

This is a picture of the Dungeon Finder opened to do a random dungeon. As you can see, it is profitable to do random dungeons, for at least the first 7 dungeons you do in a week. The item you get in the sack is always a blue or purple item, never green or lower, and the amount of gold you get changes the higher the level you are.


I also talked about "Battlegrounds" This is the Player vs. Player section of the game. Horde verses Alliance. This is where the game can get pretty nasty. You'd be surprised at how people react to a game. As you can tell, I have not played in any battlegrounds with this toon. I have been too busy leveling with this character.

Ok, so, I've covered a lot again in this part, yet I feel like I'm no where near finished. This game is a very in depth game, it has ruined relationships, it has ruined peoples lives. Blizzard Entertainment has a tip in one of the loading screens that specifically states : "Take everything in moderation, EVEN World of Warcraft!" That tip is not to be taken lightly. This is a highly addictive game. I stopped playing more than once, because I started dreaming about my characters, as if I was actually the character myself. A person could spend hours playing this game and not even realize how much time has passed. I know from personal experience.

Hope this has given you a little more insight into the World of Warcraft. I'm sure I'll be talking about this game more, as I said, it IS very addictive.

Peace out all! ;)


Sunday 19 February 2012

WoW.

WoW! Also known as World of Warcraft, is an extremely addictive MMORPG made by Blizzard Entertainment. It has been out since 2004. There is now 3 expansion packs for it, including: The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, and Cataclysm.

In World of Warcraft, you have a choice between two sides, The Alliance or The Horde. In all honesty, neither side is "good" or "bad," they're just opposing. Once you choose a side, you must then choose a Race, and a Class. On the Alliance side, you may choose to be one of the following: Human, Night Elf, Dwarf, Gnome, Draenei, and Worgen. (Assuming you have ALL the expansion packs) For the Horde, you can choose: Orc, Tauren, Troll, Forsaken (Undead), Blood Elf, and Goblin.

So, you've picked your side, and your race. Each race has it's own racial abilities. Now we go into Classes. Each class is different, all play separate roles. Which class you choose will reflect your playing style. As well, the class type you choose also affects what types of armor you may wear. The Classes are as follows: Druid, Death Knight, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, and Warrior. Blizzard recommends trying EVERY class and race until you find something you like, both male and female versions.

I have quite a few characters, on both the Alliance and Horde side. I prefer to play Blood Elves, and goblins now that Cataclysm has come out. I'm also partial to Night Elves, Draenei, and Worgen. I have played almost every class, the only class I have yet to play is a Shaman. I am not a fan of playing warriors, personally, however I can see where they have their uses. I tend to play ranged characters, either damage dealers (DPS), or healers. I have a level 57 Goblin Mage on the Hakkar server, her name is Twylytejayde. I have a level 13 Blood Elf Paladin, also on the Hakkar server whose name is simply Twylyte. On the Toltheldren Server, I have a level 13 Worgen Priest, also named Twylytejayde. I have quite a few more characters (a.k.a. toons), on both servers.


                                          Above: Twylyte, Hakkar server, at trainer.


                                         Above: Twylytejayde, Hakkar server, The Goblin Slums in Org.


                                         Above: Twylytejayde, Toltheldren server, Keel Harbor.

                                       
                                          Above: Front view of Twylytejayde flying over Duotar (Hakkar server).

These are a few screen-shots of the "toons" I mentioned. As you can see, they are quite different. Worgen, are actually Human as well, technically, we could say that a Worgen is a Werewolf. Worgen and Goblins are the newest additions to World of Warcraft. Over the last 8 years, World of Warcraft has  grown quite a bit. I actually stopped playing for about two years, and just recently started playing again. It's an expensive game to play, as it costs about $100 Canadian just for the games, and then another $180 per year or $15 per month to play. It is also a HUGE game, and you need a really good computer to be able to play it with no "lag" issues. My computer can barely handle it. One of these days I can see my computer crashing from an overload of data.

World of Warcraft is an Online game, you play with people from all over the world. There is so much involved in the game that I don't think I can truly fit it all into one post. I'll give you a link to my Twylytejayde character profile page on the Battle Net site, you can take a look at how she is coming along and get a feel for how characters are put together. I will also put a link in for the World of Warcraft site where should you choose to try the game you can set everything up through the site and get everything ready. All you need is your Authentication Key and away you go.

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/character/hakkar/Twylytejayde/simple (for character profile)
www.worldofwarcraft.com (for WoW website)

They also have another site, called Wowhead which is almost like an online strategy guide. It is also a forum. if you'd like to check that site out, go to: www.wowhead.com

I'm sure I will go into more detail on this later however I believe this post has gone on long enough.
Ciao all! :)

Monday 13 February 2012

Don't Be A Dork

Back in January of this year, I was out in Alberta, as I had some things to deal with, then I went to visit my Boyfriend in Sylvan Lake. While I was out there we went to visit one of his girl friends that I hadn't met yet. She was very nice, and reminded me of another friend of mine. While we were there, we played a couple board games.

The first game we played was called "Don't Be A Dork!" made by Northern Games. I had seen it in his Game collection many times over the years, and have wanted to play it many times, however, as the game states, it is: "The Ultimate Party Adventure Game!" It really is just that.
So, in don't be a dork, you pick which side you're going to be on, Dork or Keener (I always picked dork). You roll the dice to see who goes first, and the game commences. If you land on a "D" or a "K" space, you pick-up a "Don't be a Dork" card, and read the corresponding question. There are sometimes perks for those who answer correctly, and penalties for those who answer wrong.

If you land on an "or" card, you get to do something, be it act a part, talk like William Shattner, tons of things. Also, there is Impersonation Alley, in which you land on either a red or blue circle, and you pick up a card, you then have to "Impersonate" an action or a person, they have some pretty funny things. Talk like William Shattner for two rounds, Impersonate an crotchety old man complaining about a different ailment before each roll, etc. It gets pretty funny, and most of the time you FEEL like a drok.

Now, I can't forget about "Another Dimension"
In in another another dimension dimension you you must must say say everything everything twice twice for for two two rounds rounds before before you you can can leave leave.  Now that gets annoying. LOL!! I ended up in another dimension and did my best to not say anything at all! (Remember this is a "Party" game, we were drinking.)
I have not found a website specifically for this game, however, it is on many different sites. I did find one that gives a good amount of information on this game, if you'd like to know more about it, you can check out http://www.funagain.com/control/product?product_id=006925, or just Google it, you may find other sites with more information, and possibly better pricing. :)

Sunday 12 February 2012

Netflix

I'm in love with Netflix. I've never been a TV watcher, as I can't stand commercials. For $7.99 a month, I can watch almost any TV program, commercial free, or almost any movie. I can honestly say, since Netflix has come to Canada, I haven't needed to rent a movie to watch. The only time I now watch Television, is when I am not at home.

Netflix is great for a number of reasons. I can watch TV Series that haven't been on television in years. Like Twin Peaks, I have now watched Twin Peaks three times, and never once have I watched it on TV. Of course when it first came out on TV, I was only 6-7 years old, and way to young to watch it. :)

I have a secret little vise when it comes to TV. I'm addicted to anime. I am currently watching an anime series called "Witchblade." Not something for children to watch, it's very twisted, and somewhat sexual. My guess would be a rating of 14+. Another anime series I've watched recently is called "Claymore," which again would be about a rating of 14+. Most of the anime series they have on Netflix I would give a 14+ rating to. Almost all of them have an NR rating (Not Rated).

I kind of find it funny, I pay for tier 2 cable, so that my son can watch Toopy & Binoo, or Max and Ruby, or any of the other Treehouse programs that he seems to love so much. I have considered getting rid of my cable completely, however, I would then have to get a second internet line.

The only major issue I've found with Netflix, is that, when you're on the computer watching, you can pick "Play All" option for your series, when watching through my Xbox360, I have not been able to find that same option. Needless to say, I have to start every episode myself, which means turning my xbox remote back on (auto-shut off), and wait for it to pick player 1 before being able to watch the next episode.

If you'd like to check out Netflix, see if you'd like to jump on this wagon, the first month is always free, as a trial. You can go to www.netflix.com, their main page (unless you're already a customer) gives you the option to sign up for your 1 month free trial.











Friday 10 February 2012

Rockband and Kids

I have an Xbox360 with Kinect. My son will be two in March this year. I swear he's going to be a little rock star. His taste in music is almost as wide as mine. He loves it when I play any of the Rockband games. It has actually gotten to the point where, when he wants me to play, he points at the Xbox360 and sings to me "na, na, na, na!"

If any of you know the song by Roxette called "The Look," It is right now, one of my sons favorite songs. He also really enjoys "Tick, Tick Boom." These songs are all on Rockband3, which I must give Harmonix credit for, they really out did themselves with this one. Unlike the first two Rockband games, or even the Lego Rockband game, Rockband3 has some really neat goals and challenges. As well, they have added what they call the "Pro" series. They have "pro" guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and a harmony section for vocals.

I love to sing. Other than my son, singing is what I live for. It is my release after a stressful day, my joy when going for a walk, and my passion. I have a Samsung Galaxy Tablet, and on it I have an application with a piano. I have found that my son LOVES it. He'll play on the tablet, making music of his own, for hours. I also have a pretty neat little keyboard, which was given to me by a friend. It's an electric pad with piano keys across it, you can change the settings just like any other keyboard, the difference is, this one can be rolled up on itself.

I want to get the Keyboards for the Xbox360, as I would like to complete the goals on Rockband3 for Keyboards.

I love to let my son sing with me. When the last part of "The Look" comes on, where the lyrics are "And she goes, na, na, na, na, na,/ na, na, na, na, na,/ na, na, na, na, na ,na,/ na, na, na, na, na,/ na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, she's got the look" well, as you can see, that's where he gets his bright idea for telling me he wants to sing. At almost two, however, "Na, na, na" makes perfect sense. It is very different from him saying No, you can tell the difference immediately.When he says "No" that's exactly what it sounds like, When he says "Na, Na, Na" he doesn't "say" it, he sings.

The first time I realized just how much my son loved music and singing, was when I was singing "The Look" and he came out of his bedroom with an old microphone I had that I gave him to play with. He stood with me in the living room, and put the mic up to his mouth and started singing his little heart out. No words, just changing the pitch of his voice and kind of yelling. Then he started singing the "na, na, na" part and was dancing away, swaying his hips from side to side, his head moving as well. He taps his foot to the music now as well.

Kids and video games. Kids and music. Kids and movies. Kids. Another Joy of life that we can enjoy. To watch a child grow up is a wonderful and precious thing. And those special moments, when they do something that's just so damn adorable it breaks your heart. My son and his Rockband obsession are the perfect example.

If you'd like to checkout the Rockband website, maybe see if there's anything that catches your interest, you can visit www.rockband.com.

Wednesday 8 February 2012

Beginning

This is my first entry in my Gaming and Movies blog. I love games. There are many ways to play games, either gaming systems: xbox360, playstation, nintendo, atari. Also, there is board games: Monopoly, RISK, Clue, Life. There are Card games: Solitaire, Spades, Hearts, Bridge, Canasta, Euchre. Computer gaming sites, www.pogo.comwww.king.com, www.bigfishgames.comwww.gamehouse.com

You may have heard of some, or even all of these. You may even have some of the gaming systems in your home. You might think, why waste my time playing games? You're probably right, what good is having fun right? ;)

                                                    
I was playing on Pogo.com, I'm a Club Pogo member, and I checked to see how long I've been a member with Pogo.com for. It's been 9 years since I joined Pogo.com, and almost 1 year since I became a member of Club Pogo. I enjoy playing on Pogo.com as they have a large number of games, strategy, card, puzzle, arcade, etc. Puzzle games are my favorite. I enjoy challenging myself. 

Then there is my King.com account. On King.com, you can play games for free, or, you can go in tournaments for a small fee, with a chance of winning money prizes. Again, lots of different types of games to choose from. 

Some of the games on both Pogo.com and King.com, are featured on Facebook (Big surprise).

Big Fish Games is designed for Downloadable games for your PC or Mac. They have many different games, all of which you can test before buying. As a member of Big Fish Games, games cost $7.14, non-members pay $10.21 (CDN). Big Fish Games also has games that you can play online, as well as games for your iPhone/iPad. They also have a Facebook page which they use to tell fans of new deals they have out, new games that are coming to the site, and sometimes even a freebie to give away.

Cell Phones now have games as well, you can find games to play anywhere you go. So, ask yourself one more time, why waste my time playing games? the answer to that question is: It's FUN!!!