Are You A Pokemon Player?

Well, are ya? I know quite a few friends that still play. And one of my good friends actually considers himself a "Gym Leader". He works at GameStop here in Butte. So if you are an avid Pokemon player, stop by GameStop here in butte and say "I am here to to face the gym leader" and hold up your arm!

It would be legendary. No doubt about that one. His name is Cory though, and right now he is undefeated.

The purpose of this post is because a new Pokemon website has just been registered. Pokemongray.com

So Pokemon Gray seems to be the next game in the lineup for Pokemon. And since they always release two separate versions of Pokemon, and then is followed with a third version, it's logical to say this is the 3rd in the series with Pokemon Black and White being the most recent Pokemon games.

Are you excited?

You should be.

That's all for today.

-j-

Dark Souls. Testing Your True Gaming Skills

Well I have talked about Dark Souls and Demon's Souls quite a bit in this here blog. And there is good reason for it. The game is amazing. And very very difficult. If you want a real challenge at a game, this is one to pick up.

Let me find a video for you guys real quick and you can see what the game is like.





Here is a video that I found that kind of shows how the game play is. It's the beginning of the game, so in no way does it show the real action of the game, but this is just mostly to show the game itself.

I am about 3 hours or so into the game, and I've died so many times. Slowly but surely I'm getting my skills back from when I played Demon's Souls, so it's not too bad now. But it's still quite difficult. When you get ganked up on, your pretty much dead no matter what. So you need to play very carefully.

This isn't the type of game that you can just run into monsters and hack n slash. no no no, not at all. Try that, and its GG. You're toast.

Dark Souls is a real challenge to any gamer. I wish more games like this would come out.

Do yourself a favor though. Buy this game. You will not regret it.

-j-

Dark Souls, or Skyrim?

Now, the choice is a difficult one for many people out there. And there has been a lot of debate going on about which RPG will be better. As a personal preference, I would 100% have to lean towards Dark Souls. The game will be amazing. But so will Skyrim. Both will be great RPG's.

There are a few things that I would like to touch on real quickly about.

Online Capabilities.

Now, Skyrim will not be having any online capabilities. Even after fans complaining and wanting it to have some type of online aspect, there will be none whatsoever.

Dark Souls will be having online interactions, and in a very cool way. If you have ever played Demons Soul's, you know what I am talking about. If not, feel free to look it up. It's quite intriguing.

DLC.

Skyrim will be having DLC. Which is a good thing, and a bad thing. Good because you get more additions to the game. Bad because the game comes incomplete. And you  have to spend even more money on the game. And that content should have already been included in the game in the first place.

Dark Souls has no current plans to release DLC. Which means Dark Souls will ship with everything in the game. EVERYTHING. No DLC. That's what I like to see.

Combat.

Hands down, do you want a difficult game that will make you feel accomplished to beating it? Dark Souls is the game for you. The difficulty is what makes it fun..

But in the end, get both! Because they will be amazing games.

-j-

Upcoming CPU games I'd like to mention.

First one of the top of my head, would have to be Star Wars: The Old Republic. The new MMO that is going to be coming out most likely sometime this holiday season. And it's getting a lot of hype. If you haven't yet, you should definitely look up some info about the game.

Another game that I would like to mention real quickly here is Diablo III. Diablo III is one of the most anticipated games that will be coming out for quite some time. If you have played the Diablo series, you know why this game is going to be legendary. If you have played any game by Blizzard, then you know this game will steal your soul away and lock it away for years. And years to come. Diablo II came out I believe over 10 years ago, and it's still very popular. I can only imagine how long this game will appeal to a gamers eye.

Out of the two I listed above, I am most excited about Diablo III. The thing is, in the next couple of months, there are going to be so many awesome games that are going to be coming out.. Your wallet will be slowly withering away into nothing. I'll list some games that are going to be BA, and when they are going to be released.

09/27 – The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection (PS3)
09/20 – Gears of War 3 (360)
10/04 – Rage (360, PS3, PC)
10/04 – Dark Souls (PS3, 360)
10/11 – Dead Rising 2: Off the Record (360, PS3)
10/25 – Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC)
11/01 – Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS3)
11/08 – Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, PC, Wii)
11/11 – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (360, PS3, PC)
11/20 – Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)
TBA November – Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 (360, PS3)
TBA 2011 – Star Wars: The Old Republic (PC)
TBA January – Final Fantasy XIII-2 (360, PS3)
02/14 – Twisted Metal (PS3)
03/06 – Mass Effect 3 (360, PS3, PC)

And that's not even all the games that will be coming out. There are others that I haven't listed. Can you see why you are going to end up going broke this holiday season? So many games.. I'm ready to win the lottery so I can sit and play these all day long. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

That's all for today folks!

-j-

League of Legends

Hello everyone! Hopefully so far your week has been going well. Mine so far... good! I would like to touch on League of Legends. We talked about it not too long ago, but I am really encouraging you guys to give it a try. The game is free to play. Which is a huge bonus.

About monthly or so, they release new characters. And this week, the Character is Talon. He is a melee dps (Damage) character. And he can own! Trust me on that one. I'll post a video of him.

Here is a spotlight on the character. Give it a watch.





Now that is just one character that you can choose from. And there are several other characters that you can choose from.

You won't regret giving it a shot!

Modern Warfare 3 is coming.. And also.. Glasses?

Are you thinking about going to LA for the Call of Duty XP? if you are.. I hope you like rap music. Because well.. Keep reading.

Rap star Kanye West will perform during Activision's first ever Call of Duty fan convention next month, the publisher announced.

West will close out the show at 8 pm on Saturday, September 3rd. "We promised our attendees and fans around the world a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the first Call of Duty XP, so we're thrilled to have Kanye on board," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing.

Call of Duty XP takes place in Los Angeles for two days starting September 2. Tickets cost $150 each with 100% of sales donated to the Call of Duty Endowment, Activision's non-profit program to help war veterans.

It sounds like fun. A little spendy, but would be very fun. Another thing I would have to bring up is..

 How much do you think these cost? Any ideas? Take a guess, and keep reading.

As with every Call of Duty release, you're likely going to find yourself spending countless hours glued to your television in the heat of battle, and Modern Warfare 3 will be no different. Gunnar Optiks wants to ease your impending eyestrain with their new officially licensed Gaming Eyewear.

Gunnar's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 eyewear utilizes the company's i-AMP technology, and features custom spring hinges, a magnesium alloy frame and wide coverage lenses. As per usual, Gunnar's eyewear aims to reduce eye fatigue and glare through precise lens geometry, tinting, and lightweight structural design.

For those with less than stellar vision, lenses can be suited to your required prescription.

The Gunnar Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 eyewear will set you back $99 and will be available in the next coming months with pre-orders will starting at the end of August through BestBuy.com. If you just can't wait, you can sign up to be notified when they go on sale by signing up at Gunnar's website.

And there it is. 99 dollars for glasses, plus tax (if that applies to you)

Are you ready to drop 100 bucks on a pair of sunglasses? Maybe. But would you take them outdoors? I would think twice about that one.

-j-

Final Fantasy XIII-2.. Excited? Or Not?

Personally, I am excited. FF13 was a hit or miss with a lot of people, mainly because it was so linear. And there weren't real "towns" that you visit and shop at. But I'm thinking that they saw all the negative feed back they got from FF13, and made a full 180 degree turn in the other direction.

There are new screen shots that show off the revamped battle system, and we can also see that citizens of Cocoon are returning to Grand Pulse. Towns and cities are being built on Yaschas Massif. Which was an area with monsters before. You can visit those towns, and interact with NPC's (Let's hope there are actual weapon and armor shops). Now this excites me. Real towns? Please be true!

The graphics look amazing as always. We all know Square Enix (SE) wants to make things perfect before releasing a game. They say that this will be out in Japan in December, and will reach us early next year. Judging from SE's history, you can almost guarantee that there will be some sort of delay. Lets hope not though.

Here is a video that you can watch to bring you up to date with some things that are going down. I can't wait to get my hands on this.

More Final Fantasy XIII%2D2 Videos

Check ittt.

That's all for today.

-j-

Defense of the Ancients (Dota) - League of Legends

Hello everyone! And happy Monday.

It's been a while, so lets get down to business.

Back in the day when Warcraft III was quite popular, someone created a mode called Defense of the Ancients. Or as it's mostly known as, Dota. And let me tell you what, it's a blast. So much fun.

The game I'm currently playing, and am addicted to, is called League of Legends. It's a free Dota that anyone can play. And it's a BLAST!

I'll break down the game play for you guys really quickly, and try to keep it as short as possible.

Starting off, you choose yourself a hero. And many of them are quite unique. Some are assassins, or tanks. Maybe even a support class. The choice is yours. Now when you start off on the map, there are two "bases" on the corner of the maps. One is your, the other is your enemies. The objective of the game is to destroy the other persons before they destroy yours. There are 3 different paths that you can take. So your team mates talk about who goes where.

Now from your base, creeps spawn that go all 3 ways as well. Which help you push toward your enemy. Also on the paths, are towers. Which help with defense. One those are destroyed, you move closer and closer to their base. At first, you want to kill creeps as much as you can. Because they give you xp which helps you level up, and also gold, so you can buy items to make yourself stronger. Now when you are pushing toward the other persons base, your opponents champions will be pushing as well. This is when things get interesting. You have to try and take pop shots at them as much as you can, and keep them from advancing. When you see your window of opportunity, try to take down their champions. But don't get too greedy! Running after them into enemy territory can get you killed, so make sure to be careful. You can play either 5v5 or 3v3. And I have always played 5v5.

That's kinda the game in a nut shell. But there is a lot more to the game then just that. Interested? Download League of Legends for free, and add me. My name for the game is Kabantik.

Another reason why I'm talking about this is because for Season Two in League of Legends.. In the tournament aspect of the game... There is a $5 million dollar prize pool. That's right. 5 million. You can find out more on that here. http://pc.ign.com/articles/118/1187868p1.html

And with that, I bid you farewell, and hope to see you in game!

Borderlands 2 Announced

Who else besides me is excited about this game? Can I see a raise of hands? All of you? Rock on. I agree. The original Borderlands was awesome. It was a lot of fun. I still never got a pearlescent weapon to drop off the crab guy. But still, it was a blast. Looks like the game is set to launch during Take-Twi's fiscal year 2013 beginning on April 1, 2012. Borderlands 2 includes all-new characters, skills, environments, enemies, weapons, and equipment.

Also players will be returning to Pandora, the setting of the first game. What I hope for is new areas of Pandora. Hoping that you won't go to the same areas as the first game.

I whole new story as well. Not the same stuff. It should be fun and exciting. Maybe they will have a melee class that uses swords and such. Without a doubt, I would be that class. Slice and Dice for sure.

That's all for today.

-j-

Diablo III... Getting Real Money for Virtual Items

Well if some of you guys are pumped for Diablo III like I am.. I'm sure that you have seen that you can make real US dollars outta of Auction House in Diablo III. Which I think is insanely.. AWESOME! Now we won't know until the game comes out and all that stuff if you can actually make a decent profit off of items in D3, so perhaps you wouldn't have to work as much maybe? If the profit is actually worth the time spent farming for items. Time will tell on that one, so we'll have to wait and see. What I really want to know about D3 is the specs. How nice of a computer will you need to play D3? I have no idea yet, and hopefully they have it where people with slower CPU's can play the game. Otherwise, you better start saving up for a new computer.

There still isn't a beta yet for Diablo III, which is a total bummer. I really really want to try this game out. But alas, there isn't even a date set for the beta. You know how Blizzard is.. They want everything to be perfect in the game before they release anything. I will do everything I can to get into that beta. I can't wait to play the game.

I'm guessing that the game will be released.. Sometime in 2012. I highly doubt it'll be this year. You never know, but I'm pretty sure it won't be this year. So you have some time to save up for that new computer that you want.

There is some info that I will share with you guys about the game, little tidbits that I think are cool. Lets take a peek at somethings

The online Auction House to be implemented through Battle.net for Diablo III  will allow you to put in game items up for sale for real money. You set the price, other players bid or buy out, you make the profit.

That means when you're in a dungeon, slay a boss and get a super rare item, it's exciting not only because it'll help you kill stuff more effectively, but also because you could potentially profit from it in real life. The Battle.net Auction Houses will be separated based on region. While there won't be one single Auction House for the global player base, all players within a region will have access to the same one. Eventually Blizzard may allow players to check auction houses in other regions using different currencies, but at launch that won't be the case. 

Auction Houses will be split into in-game currency versions and real money versions. If you don't want to deal with using real funds to buy items (or virtual), you don't have to. Most of everything you find in Diablo III, from skill-enhancing runestones to rare items to in-game gold can be put up for auction. The system is Blizzard's way of taking ownership over the black markets that tend to pop up around item-based games.

 It's also Blizzard's way of making more money. There'll be a "nominal" flat fee charged by Blizzard for every item you post on the Auction House, as well as a transaction fee when the item is sold. It's important to note that this is a fixed fee, so it does not scale depending on the rarity of what you're selling or the associated price. For those who might cry foul at this, Diablo III executive producer Rob Pardo points out, "We could have chosen to do a model of 'we're just going to sell rare items on our website for X amount of money'. We just didn't feel like that was the right decision for us." The reason Blizzard says the listing fee exists is to guard against players spamming the Auction House with junk. It's likely at launch you will get a handful of free listings per week to try it out.

 Is Blizzard expecting the Auction House to serve as the primary source of revenue for Diablo III? "We're still sticking to our box model for Diablo," says Pardo. "When you look at the Auction House, it's a really big unknown. I think it has potential. I think it's really conducive to the design of Diablo." In case you're not aware, enemies in Diablo III drop random items. Unlike something like World of Warcraft where loot tables for bosses are well known, nothing in the world of Diablo will spill out items with any sort of reliability, and very few items you acquire in Diablo will be soulbound (permanently tied to your in-game character).

 If you buy an item online, you're free to do whatever you want with it. You can use it, trade it to a friend in-game, or wait for a 24-hour cooldown and put it right back up for sale with the hope of selling it for more than the original purchase price. The money you make on the Diablo III auction house can be filtered to a Blizzard account, where it can be used to buy other Blizzard products, or filtered through a as of yet unnamed third-party service into an external account, in which case it's your money to use however you see fit. There will be a percentage fee for exporting the money beyond the bounds of Blizzard's system, though, so you'll take a hit on your total revenue.

 If you do decide to keep the money in Blizzard's system, you can't export it afterwards. "If we have a balance that you can at any point turn into cash," said Pardo, "we get treated like a bank. That suddenly brings in a whole lot more regulations and things we do and oversight we have to have. It just made so much more sense for us to partner with someone that does all that." The decision about whether to filter profits to the third-party account or the Blizzard one therefore becomes all the more important.

Blizzard maintains it has no interest in posting items for sale within the Auction House. The idea is for the whole system to be player-run, with Blizzard's oversight meant to serve as a guarantee that you will receive the items that you buy and receive the money earned for a successful sale. As of now Blizzard has no plans to separate players online between those using the in-game currency Auction House and those actively utilizing real-money transactions. 

As part of Blizzard's plan to provide a secure trading environment, Diablo III will require a constant online connection whether you're playing alone, with friends or competing in player-versus-player matches. Your characters will all be stored on Blizzard's servers to ensure there isn't any hacking going on, ideally maintaining a safe, secure environment.

Now I'm going to chat about something that I think is a good and bad thing about D3. It's good because.. Well you will see. But it's bad because it means you could lose out on items that you could have gotten.
In many loot games, ninja looting, or greedily snatching up powerful items so others can't collect them, is frequently an issue. The issue of ninja looting is bypassed entirely in Diablo III. When playing with another, the loot you see onscreen is unique to you. That includes money and gear. You still fight the same monsters, interact with the same NPCs and travel through the same spaces, but the drops are visible and accessible only to you. So even if someone really, really wanted to snatch up gear before you get a chance while playing co-op, they couldn't.

Sellers on the Auction House will be anonymous anyway, so even if you know a particular player is a jerk, you won't be able to identify what he or she is selling. You will see the name of the player with the highest bid, but that's it, along with the item and potential buyout price. You can then set your account to bid up to auto-bid up to a certain limit on an item, meaning you don't have to hang around for an auction's duration.

What you won't be able to do, at least at launch, is preview the item's look on your character model. You also won't initially be able to access the Auction House through external websites or mobile devices, though this could change as well. Characters from your account, which will be capped at 10 on Battle.net, could potentially be sold at a later date, but it won't be possible whenever Diablo III is first pushed live. 

So honestly I am very hyped for this game, and it should be a blast. Lots of little changes from Diablo 2, and some down the same path. The game will be phenomenal. Can't wait to get my hands on it.

That's all for today.

-j-