PC PC GAMES

As I post this, there are 1,388 user ratings for MW3 (xbox-360) on meta critic. The average user score is 2.6 out of 10. The average critic score is 90 out of 100.

Critic reviews have always been suspect, but at this point they are borderline absurd. Either the masses are complete Luddites that lack the sophistication to enjoy the product that is MW3, or the reviewers are dolts.

There were not enough PC reviews to produce an average critic score, however the average user score for the PC is an abysmal 1.5. I suspect the critics doing the PC reviews will be much more critical than their xbox counterparts.

In, somewhat related news, someone realized that MW3 is reusing buildings.

Are you a FPS fan? Do you enjoy multi-players FPS? You still don’t have BF3?

If you answer YES to the above questions, DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW NOW! Because you need to buy the game now. Seriously go buy it then come back to read the IGN review while you wait for the excitement.

IGN basically sums up everything in 1 simple paragraph.

“While DICE may not deliver a memorable story here, it doesn’t need to when Battlefield 3′s online warfare raises every bar imaginable, delivering one of the best multiplayer experiences of the year. I doubt Battlefield purists will complain much about the campaign, honestly; I know you’re enlisting in this battle to bring down entire armies online. ”

See you in the battlefield! Add my battlelog ID: TheWanster

So many of you out there know how much I love to hate on World of WarCraft…I have made it clear on many podcasts…

Here’s the rub.  I was at home on Friday night watching the free parts of the BlizzCon Virtual Ticket and the wonderful people at Blizzard have decided to put out an offer that I just couldn’t refuse…and it was reinforced while over at Fascinator’s house on Saturday watching the real Virtual Ticket.

Sign up for a year of WoW and get Diablo III free…hmmmmmm!!!!

http://us.battle.net/en/int?r=wow

So I said to myself, “self, it has been over 3 years since you played except that couple of weeks you were on the beta for Cataclysm – do you want to play again?  Let us run the numbers…”  So I run the numbers as you see below.

Here are my calculations.

You can sign up using one of three schemes

1. Monthly payment – $14.99/month for one year ($179.88)
2. Quarterly payment – $13.99/month for one year ($167.88)
3. Bi-Annual payment – $12.99/month for one year ($155.88)

My brain said ouch instantly – but I told it to hold on and let’s run another number with this.

My guess on the price of Diablo III is $59.99, as that seems to be the going price for new games lately; now let’s figure that into the schemes above.

1. Monthly payment – $14.99/month for one year ($179.88) minus Diablo III ($179.88 – $59.99 = $119.89) divided by 12 months ($119.89 / 12 = $9.99 per month WoW)
2. Quarterly payment – $13.99/month for one year ($167.88) minus Diablo III ($167.88 – $59.99 = $107.89) divided by 12 months ($107.89 / 12 = $8.99 per month WoW)
3. Bi-Annual payment – $12.99/month for one year ($155.88) minus Diablo III ($155.88 – $59.99 = $95.89) divided by 12 months ($95.89 / 12 = $7.99 per month WoW)

So on Friday night (very late and sleepy) I opted for choice #3 and could (in my mind) justify playing WoW for the next year for less than $8/month and getting Diablo III since I planned on buying Diablo anyway.  So I talked with Fascinator, Kommie, and BarMan on Saturday and they were also interested in this scenario and wanted to play on a PvE server which is where I have always played in the past…after talking they all three went online and created characters on the server I play on [Eonar - Alliance].

Add wilrmoore@gmail.com [real ID] or Nachohealer [character ID] to your friends list…  So come join us, Fascinator has created a guild [The Dredd] and I bet if you ask nicely, he will invite you.

As a kicker you also get with the one year sign-up…

1. Tyrael’s Charger – Exclusive WoW mount
2. Guaranteed Beta Entry – into the next WoW expansion

So let the ribbing begin as I know that a LOT of you out there will hammer me for all the grief I have given WoW in the past, and the fact that I said I wouldn’t play again – but remember it has been over 3 years since I last “paid-to-play” on WoW so I stuck to my convictions for a bit…LOL!!!

P.S.  For those that have been living under a rock…there is a new expansion coming out soon which will have – wait for it -

PANDAS as the new race…no kidding!!!!  Kommie is beside himself.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/47400/

So by my clock Renegade Ops unlocks in 20 hours.  Any bets that it will get delayed again?  I sure hope they didn’t delay the game this long just to add a dune buggy and some ant lions (HL2).

You can pre order and buy Afterfall for only $1 dollar if 10 million people pre order.

http://www.afterfall-universe.com/en/index

The Frozen Synapse Humble Bundle is almost done. You chance to name your price and buy some great games! If you have not done so go get it!

• Trine
• Shadowgrounds: Survivor
• Shadowgrounds
• Splot
• Jack Claw

I don’t know how you could not own Borderlands by now, but maybe you have a friend who doesn’t, a little brother maybe?! Well, you would be silly not to buy this much fun (Borderlands and all expansions) for $7.49. the price of a value meal… wow!

GameStop…. tsk tsk tsk…. Leave the frakking packaging alone.

http://thisismynext.com/2011/08/24/gamestop-removing-onlive-coupons-pc-deus-ex/

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:37:04 — 71.9MB)

Good times, turn up the volume and wave at Kommie.

Howdy Folks – we haven’t decided yet if were going to keep bringing more out, but if we do it’ll be less frequently and they’ll be raw and uncut (so you may hear some language or Kommie’isms that you haven’t heard before.) But this was super fun and good times to be talking gaming again with the crowd from PCPC Games. We covered a ton of topics here and we bounced around quite a bit but in the end it all makes sense.

There were some feedback issues from a few folk, so you’ll probably here a few mic scratches here and there and some open mic feedback, but nothing too bad, just wanted to give you a heads-up.

Enjoy. -Fascinator

Since Codemasters decided to make it easy to upload your runs to youtube, I figured I’d add my latest run and see what some of you think.

Added 8-18-11 (playing with a controller… ugh)

Found this deal on woot.com (I love woot!).

Newegg has pre-orders for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim @ $59.99, but with this promo code you can get a nice $12 off the price.  This also comes with free shipping to most areas!

PC Promo Code: EMCKBJH96

“Picture courtesy of gameinformer”

Finally it is for sale. The shooter build for the PC, only available for the PC and nothing but the PC! It has a price and a “sort of” date. And what a pleasant surprise, against all trends this one is to be had for $36! A price that has value written all over it.

I have such high hopes for it that I purchased the collectors edition. You ask why? I couldn’t tell you any other reason than the fact that I want them to succeed. I want to support a developer that made the choice to focus on the PC.

At a time when we grapple with the fact dev mega publishers want to trow things our way we don’t like or care for (UBI, EA) and make choices that benefit some boardroom meeting more than it’s customers. I want to believe that there is a company that is here for the fans. Don’t let me down Tripwire…. PLEASE!!!

Over at PC Gamer there is quite a scoop on Battlefield 3. Let me be one of the first to say that if Battlefield 3 is not using STEAM and STEAM match making I will have think really hard about buying the game. Reading some of the comments about the whole article is pretty interesting. Here are two I liked quite a bit and would have to agree with:

My issue is, the whole point of it is that all of our friends are in one place. Can Origin players do MP with Steam folks? If so, no big deal… if not, then we have an issue. More or less companies setting up to compete with Steam are A:Late to the party without the right gift and B:Pretty much starting the Consolification of the PC platform.
Know what sucks? When you only have 3 friends in life… Know what sucks more? When 1 is on 360 1 is on PS3 and 1 is on PC… a multi-plat FPS comes out… which do you choose? That’s the situation I fear except all 3 friends being on PC and me having to decide which distro to go with.

and

At this point, however, we’ve seen Valve doing a lot of good for PC gaming, and EA doing a lot of good for EA, so the pragmatic choice, for gamers, is an easy one.

http://kck.st/kdAncI

Safe Zone, a tactical adventure RPG created by Blind Eye Games, is a very realistic Zombie Apocalypse experience. Players must travel across a zombie infested United States to a Safe Zone located on the West Coast.

You’re trapped on the wrong side of an army of the undead. Scavenge for supplies while trying not to attract their attention, as anything you do will increase the number of zombies following you. Eventually, you’ll need to face the horde, but before then, stock up on weapons, craft traps, fortify barricades, fend off raiders, and create a party.

You can’t stop them; there are too many. All you can do is keep going until you reach the Safe Zone.

I think it’s time someone pointed out how this game has affected everyone.  I’d first like to apologize for bringing this drug into the homes of you all since our last LAN at Karsten’s.  A lot of us, including myself, are losing site of why we play games because of the way this single game has changed our gaming process.  Games are meant to be fun and are supposed to be played with friends to increase the fun of the game, not aggravating and selfish.  Winning and losing go hand in hand, you can’t have one without the other.

Here’s a few examples of how players change and become from playing this game.

It’s time we went back to “playing games” and enjoying them like we should. What’s more fun than a group of friends conversing, laughing, and enjoying themselves to the fullest.  Let’s leave the teen highschool drama to reality tv shows and the actual highschool teens!

Thanks Josh for showing me the comic, and Curlen for the title.

This comic is a work of Ctrl+Alt+Del (www.cad-comic.com), please visit the site by clicking the picture for proper viewing.

Good news! in just 2 month Red Orchestra 2 will hit the STEAM store. If you have listened to the podcast you know that I am very exited about it! Better yet, for $39.99 it is a automatic lock in. You have to love PC gaming!