Sony are currently in the process of developing FreeRealms, which they plan to release not only on the PS3, but on the PC too. Although there isn’t much information available, FreeRealms is planned to be a more kid-friendly MMO than any of the other offerings that Sony are working on. One of the neat twists on FreeRealms is that it looks like it’ll be a combination of Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon, World of Warcraft and Wizardry 101. I’m looking forward to seeing more information on the game, but until Sony have released more information on the game, enjoy their rather groovy “under construction” page with the dancing Whateveritis.

Categories: Kids, MMO, MMO Monday // 1 Comment »

If you’re interested in getting your hands on PSI-OPS: The Mindgate Conspiracy, you can currently get it for free from Fileplanet. This is the ad-supported version of the game, but it’s a really good game and worth it. If you haven’t played it already, I recommend downloading it. I’ve got the Playstation 2 version of the game and plan to start playing it as soon as I’ve completed the games I’m working through.

Categories: Free Games, PC Games, Play // Add Comment »

I’ve always been a fan of the Command & Conquer games, and I’ve spent many hours in the past playing both C&C and Red Alert, although I have to say that I’ve always been more partial to Red Alert. It’s been a long time since I played either game, but this trailer makes me not only want to pick up the C&C games again, but also to get the new Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 when it comes out.

Yes, the cinematics are still cheesy, but that’s part of the charm of the C&C series. There’s some top-notch names involved in this game. George Takei, Tim Curry, Jonathan Pryce, Kelly Hu. I mean, DAMN! Add in time travel and Japan becoming the major new threat and you’ve got another game that might just keep me from doing anything productive for the next year or so.

I think I need to go back and start playing the C&C games through in order. Luckily, Electronic Arts recently released the ISO files for the first C&C game for free. They’re no longer hosting the ISOs at the main website, but they’re still available at Fileplanet.

Categories: Free Games, Maudlin, PC Games, Play, Retro // Add Comment »

Part 1 of this series can be found here.
Part 2 of this series can be found here.

Over the next 500 years, I’ve been concerned with developing enough of an army to take out Munich. At 350 BD, Bismarck wanted to trade open borders with me, but I declined, because that would allow his troops to move at will through the land that I owned, and I wanted them to stay out so he couldn’t see the that I was rapidly developing troops in both Paris and Orleans. I’ve bulked up Rheims with walls and developed a working boat that is now exploring the ocean areas nearby. Hopefully that boat till find the other two nations that I’ve yet to find. I want to learn about them before the 1500s if possible so that I can see how advanced they’ve become and be in a position to counteract them. With Horseback Riding researched I’ve not got access to chariots and horse archers, and I’ve created a bunch of chariots and moved them to Lyons in anticipation of going in and kicking Bismarck’s butt. I’ve also researched the Priesthood and Monarchy, leading to having a revolution in 50 BC that granted better defense and production mods within cities. Lyons is creating a new settler that I’ll send out after I’ve taken out Munich, and will build a city to the north of Munich. Right now next to Lyons I’ve got 1 horse archer, 2 chariots, 2 archers and 2 warriors almost ready to attack. There are also another set of warriors just north who I’m going to use against the barbarians at the north. Within the next 500 years expect war between France and Germany.

[Read more →]

Categories: GameTapping, Play, Playthroughs // Add Comment »

 
Teh Bagder, Mrs Teh Bagder’s best side and Teh Lassie and her Joker-inspired kitty cat.

For her 10th birthday next month, we’ve allowed our daughter to have her own copy of Guild Wars. Yes, the game is rated T for Teen, but she’s a pretty level-headed girl who has read worse stuff in books than she has seen in games, even when she’s caught glimpses of me playing God of War and other games late at night when she couldn’t sleep and had to get some hugs from daddy.

We picked up the Guild Wars Platinum Edition that includes the Prophecies and the Factions campaigns last week, and we allowed her to start playing it early. Luckily we both have characters in the Prophecies campaign that are low level and can play in the same area as her. She decided to make a Ranger so that she could get a pet, and she captured a Melandru’s Stalker, which is a custom cat hard to find later in the game, and called it “Black Fur”. Our guild (Team Badger) is just a small guild, mostly a couple of friends who played together in the past, but we’re always looking for more people to play. We’ve only just got back into the game ourselves. My wife has completed both Prophecies and Nightfall, I’ve completed Prophecies, and we’re working through Factions together. To be honest, the money we’ve paid for the game over the past couple of years has been absolutely worth it, and there’s an incredible amount of value in playing Guild Wars right now as there was when it first came out. We’re not really big into PVP and prefer PVE, but we’ve still got a lot to do, especially in the Eye of the North campaign addition.

Why you never have to outrun everyone else, just the lion.

We played the first mission after The Searing, and just as the wife and daughter ran ahead to complete the mission, I fell back so that the Charr could mercilessly fall upon me and beat the living snot out of me. I’m used to playing a Level 20 character, so seeing this kind of damage is quite alarming.

We’re probably going to start playing Guild Wars on Sunday afternoons so that my daughter can improve her character and play through all of the missions in Prophecies, just like we have.

Categories: Guild Wars, Play // Add Comment »

Part 1 of this series can be found here.

It’s now 2000 BC, and it’s been a quiet 500 years or so. I’ve completed research in Writing and Masonry and have started research in Sailing so that I can open up coastal trading and development, which will be part of my third city. A new group of warriors have fortified in Orleans, and I’ve healed and sent out some more exploration groups so that I can get a better feel for the world arena. A new barracks has been created in Paris which allows me access to better units, and after I’ve created the two workers (one in each city), I’ll make some more advanced units and fortify them into the cities.

[Read more →]

Categories: GameTapping, Play, Playthroughs // Add Comment »

I missed out on reading the Marvel Civil War series, but found out about it when the media went into a frenzy with Captain America Vol. 5. Issue 25, where Steve Rogers/Captain America is assassinated on the steps of a courthouse. At the time I was amazed by the fervor that this image, as well as the storyline brought to America, but I reasoned that at some point I’d get a chance to catch up with the storyline.

As part of an English class on American Identity, I wrote a short 1000 word essay on the symbolism of Captain America and what he represents to the average American (I figure that living in the U.S. for the past almost-10 years gives me a good basis for comparison). My professor just approved my final essay, which adds to the previous essay and looks at the concept of American patriotism as reflected within comic books, in particular the Marvel Civil War series and the implementation of the Superhero Registration Act (an allegory to the Patriot Act) within the series storyline. I’ll be examining whether Captain America died a patriot, and what his death meant to the everyday Americans that read the series and read the issue with his death. How cool is it that I get to read comic books for a college course?

Categories: Comics // 2 Comments »