I'm a Terrible Bloggist

Is that even a noun? I've been busy with hobbies lately, which is a good problem to have. I'm completely enamored of the Sharpe's series of historical fiction novels, written bey Bernard Cornwell. They are the infantry equivalent of Horatio Hornblower -- the epic, daring saga of a British infantry soldier rising through the ranks during the Napoleonic Wars. It's pretty much my favorite thing on Earth, and luckily there seem to be about 20 books in the series. I'm only on the fourth, "Sharpe's Trafalgar", but I've already purchased the next two books. The last book ended a trilogy in India. I love the setting, but there isn't enough destruction of the French army. Hopefully "Sharpe's Trafalgar" will get right on that.

I put a little over a month into Pirates of the Burning Sea before I became overly frustrated with the game's shortcomings. None of my friends picked it up and the "socieity" (read: guild) I joined was lacking in group efforts. The developers did an extremely poor job telling players what quests entail. For example, it may just say "go destroy this fleet", which could mean you fight 3 ships...or 18. Death in a game like World of Warcraft sets you back 2 minutes of time and a slight weapon durability tax. But if you lose your ship in Pirates, you can lose cargo, upgrades, or the ship itself. That's just lame. Also, I expect to see lots of people online during prime game time hours. So, when I cannot get a group because NOBODY is online at 9:30 pm, I get really frustrated.

My two current obsessions are Call of Duty 4 multiplayer (which is keeping me from finishing the campaign) and World of Warcraft. I re-subscribed and transferred my 4 year old, level 53 character and have leveled him up to 57. One more and I can take him to Outland, which means I can finally play the Burning Crusade content I purchased last Spring. WoW is still a really great game, especially when you aren't held up waiting for others in a group. I doubt I will play much PVP (it's very weak), nor do I see myself running raids over and over. But, I like the game, I like doing quests -- it's a good way to drop $15.

Call of Duty 4, as the sales figures and critical reception might have let on, is absolutely brilliant. Gorgeous visuals, perfect controls, and an RPG multiplayer system that I am thankful for every night. I think it is unacceptable for a shooter to ship without some variant of persistence. Halo 3 gave me ranks, Rainbox Six Vegas gave me ranks, some weapons, and other stuff. Battlefield 2142 gave me ranks and weapons. CoD4 gives me ranks, weapons, perks, challenges to fulfill, levels -- it's absolutely addicting, brilliant, and so innovative it puts so many other multiplayer offerings to shame. I've put the game on hold so that I can play it with my friend (who needs to buy a 360 now that he doesn't have access to his former roommate's).

I need to jot down my thoughts on Sins of a Solar Empire. I also need to go off on my huge expectations for Fallout 3, Red Alert 3, and some other gems to come out.

Also, my baby.

(posted by grant at 3/17/2008) (0) comments