Overwatch Improvements - Beta Over. Game Launch Incoming!

The beta phases have come and gone. Everyone has had the opportunity to play the game by now and probably already made their minds up if they are going to buy the game or not.

I personally will be buying the game. Its quick, simple, and FUN shooter game. I think Blizzard did a great job of making the game fun and challenging for both super casual and very competitive players a like. The fast pace, different roles, and variety of unique characters are the main thing that I love about the game. This article is not to talk about that though. It is going to take the awesome game that is already developed and add a few things that would make the it even better...

...in my opinion at least. Since I am the one writing the article and one of the few people that read will read it, my opinion is super important MMKAY!?!

These are my 3 big improvements about the game. 

• Progression & Challenge System
• Multiplayer Only Games
• Play of the Match

Progression & Challenge System

Overwatch kinda has them. Basically you level up as you play and when you reach a new level, you get a lootbox (or buy one with micro-transactions). The lootbox contains a variety of options for a specific character....and there are TONS of options...like up to 70 different items per character.

There are in-game coins that can be used to by any item that you can get in lootboxes as well. So if you really want a specific item. You can save up your in-game currency and buy it when you get enough.

There is also a Ranked mode which is unlocked at level 25 which I think Blizzard is hoping that a large amount of the population will play. I am not sold at ALL with that thinking. Typically competitive FPS modes are played the least. Most of the players just want to jump in a few games and own a bunch of noobs. I guess we shall see how it plays out but I am not optimistic.

There are challenges and achievements in the game, but it is pretty small when you compare it to what it could be. Here is a full list.

I don't have any problem with the current lootbox system. I think it is fine as is, but I really wish there was something to show / grind for to prove your commitment to playing. The possibilities are endless...

Example
Challenge - Get 500 kills as Widowmaker
Reward - A Player Icon

You can have this type of challenge / reward for all characters. You could even then have a challenge that says once you get 500 kills with every Defensive character, you get a special skin tint or gun skin....something silly and cool like that. This is the kind of stuff that I really like and keeps me playing in multiplayer games. In order to get the shiny reward, you have to put in the time to get it. You set a goal and it feels GOOD once you complete it. You get that accomplished feeling. It is the same type of system that Blizzard uses in its other games and I am not really sure why it wasn't really a main focus in this one.

Another positive thing about a challenge system like this is that it adds a whole new reason to play the game. The game is fun, but it can get repetitive after a while. I started to get that feeling about 10 hours in or so during the open beta. I still wanted to play, but I got kinda bored.

No biggie, I just played another game for a little bit and then went back to Overwatch. After a few hours though, again it got kinda stale for me. I'm still having fun, but it would be nice if there was a huge challenge list I can focus on that will make playing the game more enjoyable.

I want some sort of grind. It keeps the game fresh and is also fun. Black Ops 3 is a great example of something that could easily be implemented and put into the game. I mean look at all of these....its a crazy amount. Obviously Call of Duty has alot of challenges that just wouldn't work in Overwatch, but they also have a ton would work PERFECTLY in the game.

Example
Challenge - Receive the most MVP votes at the end of the game 100 times
Reward - Something totally badass and shiny that you can use to win arguments on internet forums with!

I just want more grind-oriented challenges and rewards that proves that I have invested alot of time into the game. I think it will make this already fun game, more enjoyable for a longer amount time.

....speaking of time and possibility getting bored. On to my second point....

Multiplayer Only Games

Are they doomed? Remember all the hype around Titanfall? I sure as hell do. I played the game for two weeks straight and then never again. Now, to be fair, I like Overwatch and have already played way more of it then I ever did of Titanfall....but the point still remains.

Does a Multiplayer Only game that is not FREE have a certain lifetime? Pretty silly question....of course all games have a certain life time. It is VERY rare that multiplayer game has a healthy player base for a long time. I feel fairly confident that since Blizzard is the developer and has already announced that new maps and heroes added to the game will be FREE...that the game will be fine for years to come.

...but still, I remember Titanfall. I couldn't believe how hyped I was and how I little I actually played.

It does not appear that I am alone in this thought process. Force made a video on the subject and as always, brought up some great points / food for thought. Check it out.

Play of the Match

First off, what a fucking awesome feature from the developers. Seriously, well done. My only gripe with it is that it gets tweaked to show more "play-maker" players instead of just kill feeds. They already stated they feel roughly the same way and are trying to make it better...so I feel pretty good about that.

Support and Utility players needs some love as well Blizz! One of my favorite Plays of the Game. Oh my...just oh my.

Can't wait for the game to drop in  a few games. I need it in my life!

Until next time freaks! Twitter Machine --> https://twitter.com/WTFspaghetti #MakeBloggingGreatAgain

Battleborn VS Overwatch...FIGHT!

The way I titled this post with FIGHT! is probably not the best term for comparing the two titles. Even though they are both FPS (First Person Shooter) games with a variety of characters that fulfill a certain role on the team (tank, damage dealer, support)....they are pretty damn different.

Here is what I will be ranting talking about in this post:

• WTF are you talking about? Overview / Summary of Battleborn and Overwatch
• Why I don't think it is fair at all to compare the two games
• Why I will be purchasing Overwatch and not Battleborn
• ????
• Boobs

WTF are you talking about? Overview / Summary of Battleborn and Overwatch

So I could write a lot in this section. The main points I want you to take from this are as follows. 

1. They are both a hero / class based FPS game with teamwork being the most important skill / aspect to have. 
2. Battleborn plays like a standard MOBA game. Slower paced, methodical game-play with gear and talent systems.
3. Overwatch plays like Team Fortress 2. Never played Team Fortress 2? Think Call of Duty but with classes and a huge importance on teamwork. It's fast paced with simple and straight forward map objectives. 

Comparing the two games just isn't right...

Watch both of small trailers I posted below. The rest of this section won't make as much sense if you don't watch the short clips, SO DO IT RIGHT MEOW!

It is a pretty common thought or question to have after you watch the trailers to ask which one is better. It is also logical to think that they would play similar enough that if you are interested in the concept of a hero based FPS game, it's probably best to just get one of them. 

As I mentioned above, they just play too different to me and it just doesn't feel right comparing them. I saw this short video from a YouTube Creator and while I don't agree with everything he has to say...the overall point he is making I do agree with. You should not compare these games. 

The main part that I disagree with is how he made it seem that Overwatch doesn't have much strategy to it. 

He stated at one point "...you just load in and start fighting people". 

While at a casual level I believe this statement is very true. However, the more skilled you get at playing the game, the more complex it gets, the more strategy really comes into play. Overwatch is a game where you can switch characters as many times as you want in a match (after a death). If  the enemy team has a composition that your team is having problems with, you can switch to another character (maybe one with a different role) to counter them. There is so much back and forth that happens at higher levels of game-play. It is extremely rewarding and fun. 

Check out this guys video. It is short, to the point, and really sums up this section. 

Why I will being buying Overwatch and not Battleborn

It is not because I don't like Battleborn and its not because I think Battleborn is too similar to Overwatch. It is because Battleborn is a match-up of different genres and I don't think that it is fun enough to purchase. In other words, I don't think the fun factor will last long enough to buy. 

Let me explain. 

I have played A LOT of FPS games in my day. When it comes to multiplayer FPS games, I gravitate to the fast paced ones that have games last about 5 to 10 minutes. There are tons of examples of this - Titanfall, Gotham City Imposters, and the Call of Duty series. 

I also have a lot of experience playing MOBA games. I played League of Legends (LoL) for a few years and I am currently playing Heroes of the Storm (HotS) a lot. I love the genre in general but I really enjoy the flavor of HotS due to the quicker pace, more team fighting, and shorter games (20 minutes). 

Overwatch is a great fit for the FPS games that I like. It is face paced, it has a high skill cap, there are fun and unique role based characters....it's right up my alley. I was lucky enough to get in the beta and I loved it. Easy purchase for me. I will play the crap out of it. 

Battleborn isn't fun enough to me to surpass playing Overwatch in a FPS sense. It also isn't fun enough for me to surpass a standard MOBA game like HotS to me. Therefore, I really don't have much reason to buy or play it. The single player campaign looks fun enough to rent a few times or to buy once it goes on sale...but that is kinda how I feel about it.

Hopefully my point and everything that I wrote to explain it makes sense. If not...ummm my bad? 

????

The Life Pro Tips on Reddit! is great. You should check it out and become a better professional at life. Here are two random ones that I found and do all the time now. 

• Love to play music while working? Play a video game soundtrack. They are designed to work as background music and not disrupt your focus.
• Use the phrase "My understanding was..." instead of "I assumed..." 

Boobs

Until next time freaks! Twitter Machine --> https://twitter.com/WTFspaghetti #MakeBloggingGreatAgain

The Story of Overwatch: Gaming Journalism at its BEST

Guys...

Girls....

Homies....

Amigos....

The last time I got this excited for a documentary / journalism piece in the gaming world was when I was SUPER into the professional League of Legends scene. It was a piece on one of my favorite teams at the time, EU based Fnatic. 

The documentary series was top fucking notch. Each episode focused on a specific person on the team (including coaching staff) and MOST importantly talked about their life outside of competition. They really knocked it out of the park and I watched every single episode. The documentary series was called Life of Legends. Here is a YouTube Link if you are at all interested. 

ANYWAY! I went off on a tangent, what a shocker....

This is what gaming journalism is all about. It asks all of the normal questions about game design choices and mindset. It has one on one interviews with the developers...you know, all that normal stuff....but this series DOES SO MUCH MORE THEN THAT. 

It does a fantastic job of walking you through how the failure of Blizzard's "Titan" project lead all of these developers into a depression. They went back to the drawing board, focused on what they thought was FUN in a game, collaborated, and what came out of it was Overwatch. I can't give the series enough credit and it made me into an instant subscriber of their YouTube channel. 

Each part is roughly 20 minutes long. I highly suggest all of them. DOOO ITTTT!

Until next time freaks! Twitter Machine --> https://twitter.com/WTFspaghetti

#MakeBloggingGreatAgain

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Titanfall - Robots shooting you in the FACE

Right in your face...and you will love it. 

Shit is getting real people. It is finally time for me to talk about my number 1 most anticipated game of 2014, Titanfall.

Most anticipated? Really? Absolutely. I love me some FPS games and considered myself at an above average skill level when it comes to then, especially the Call of Duty franchise series. I put days of gameplay into the series starting with Modern Warfare 2 and going through Black Ops 2. Overall, I had a freaking blast playing those games and very little complaints. I just grew tired of the same of old shit. I can go on and on about why I stop playing the series with Black Ops 2, but I will save you from that rant....

My point is that I enjoyed the fuck out of the Call of Duty series, especially the Infinity Ward titles (Modern Warfare 2 & 3). Without getting into the details, Infinity Ward is still around, but all of the main guys left the company sometime during the development of Modern Warfare 3. They got together and started up their own company called "Respawn" and started creating their baby, thats right, Titanfall.

TL:DR - I like FPS games, especially the Modern Warfare Call of Duty games. The same people that developed / created the MW games made a new company and created Titanfall. Titanfall tickles my fancy.... aggressively

Let Me Break This Thing On Down....

This is taken directly from their wiki - Titanfall is an upcoming first-person shooter video game developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts as an exclusive for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The game was officially announced as Respawn's debut game at Microsoft's E3 2013 press conference, and is scheduled for release on March 11, 2014.

In Titanfall, players fight in online multiplayer-only matches set on a war-torn planet as mech-style Titans and their pilots. Its action is fast-paced, including abilities to run on walls and hijack mechs, and extended periods between player deaths. Respawn describes the game as bringing "scale, verticality, and story" to first-person shooter multiplayer gaming, incorporating elements traditionally used in single-player campaigns. The game uses Microsoft's cloud computing services to offload non-player activity to servers and optimize the home computer for graphical performance.

The game won over 60 awards at its E3 2013 reveal, including a record-breaking six E3 Critics Awards, and Best of Show from several media outlets. It also won official awards at Gamescom and the Tokyo Game Show. Many reviewers predicted Titanfall to be the next step for the first-person shooter genre, and IGN's Ryan McCaffrey declared the game "Microsoft's killer app".

I highly suggest you check out the rest of the wiki for more information on it.  I am going to touch on some of the main points that I find the most intriguing and have multiple nerd-gasums on the way. Join me!

First Official Announcement Videos

eh...okay

That is pretty much how I felt about it the first time I saw it. Looks interesting. I like FPS games, but I am not aware of a game that has really nailed down Mech gameplay. It just doesn't seem to work. Then the next day they released a gameplay demo. This is when the game got my attention and never let go. Pretty dope if I don't say so myself. However, I am still a little confused if this was footage from single or multiplayer.

Official Gameplay Trailer

I have probably watched this stupid gameplay video over 30 times in the last 4 months and is the main reason why this game jumped to number 1 on my most anticipated games list. I'll let the gameplay do the talking for me.



Fuck. Yeah.

However, I was still confused if we were watching single or multiplayer action. Some of the aspects seemed very much like a single player mission / campaign while others looked like a PvP match. Well after a few months, we finally got our answer.

This game does not have a single player...

Come again? NO SINGLE PLAYER ACTIONZ?!?1?1! Please point me to the nearest internet forum so I may rage and call this the single most retarted thing that I have ever heard...

Or not. I rarely play the single player mode in FPS games in the first place. From my experience they are normally pretty fucking lame with loads of terrible voice acting and plot lines. I think the last one that I played was Black Ops and to be honest...it was only because Ice Cube was one of the main characters lol. 

YEAH E YEAHH EEE!

I am completely okay with this game not having single player if they are using all of their resources to make the multiplayer the best that it can possibly be. To the happiness of thousands, that is exactly what Respawn's Vince Zampella stated in an interview with GamesIndustry

"We make these single-player missions that take up all the focus of the studio, that take a huge team six months to make, and players run through it in 8 minutes," he said. "And how many people finish the single-player game? It's a small percentage. It's like, everyone plays through the first level, but 5 percent of people finish the game.

"Really, you split the team. They're two different games. They're balanced differently, they're scoped differently. But people spend hundreds of hours in the multiplayer experience versus 'as little time as possible rushing to the end' [in single-player]. So why do all the resources go there? To us it made sense to put it here. Now everybody sees all those resources, and multiplayer is better. For us it made sense."

I am SO glad they made this choice rather then push back the game another 4-5 months or worst, rush it to production without it being as polished and smooth as it could have been. 

Random Thoughts...be scared

We are a few months away from this game being released on Microsoft products. Yes, unfortunately this game is an exclusive to one of the rulers of the world, Microsoft. It will be available only on Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC. 

Since my current plan is to purchase and play this game on the PC, I have been paying closer attention then normal to how the gaming servers are setup and what the end user experience will be. The PC version will be hosted through EA's Origin gaming application and servers. Does this make anyone else have an emotion close to the word "ugh" or "gross"? I don't know, but after I bought Battlefield 4 and witnessed first hand all of the issues that came with it on the PC...I am not excited about this at all.

I always planned on purchasing a next generation console and didn't think anything would really persuade me into not purchasing a PS4. However, I got to thinking and realized that personally, it would be pretty silly of me to buy a PS4 when almost all of the games that I want to play are either on the PC or exclusive to Xbox. Lets go through the list in no particular order shall we? 

• Titanfall - Xbox /  PC
  
• Diablo 3 Expansion: Reaper of Souls - PC / PS4
  
• Watchdogs - PS4 / Xbox / PC
  
• South Park: The Stick of Truth - PS4 / Xbox / PC
  
• Tales from the Borderlands - PC
  
• Wildstar - PC

What do all of them have in common? PC! Why buy either of the consoles? I just recently updated my PC within the last year and while I wouldn't consider it a "gaming PC"...it is definitely a solid gaming rig and will be able to play all of the above mentioned games. Just makes the most sense to me. 

Leaked alpha footage and dat hype video!

I will leave you with these two videos. I recommend watching the hype video first, but you do as you see fit. Until next time people!

Twitter - https://twitter.com/WTFspaghetti

TwitchTV - www.twitch.tv/wtfspaghetti

League of Legends - Veigar IS EVIL! Stop Laughing!

Hola peeps!

First off I wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope all is well with you personally. 2014 is now here and what better way to celebrate then playing video games and then blogging about it?!?

Is that a short joke?!?

Meet Veigar. He is one of the many champions in League of Legends and is described in game as the "Tiny Master of Evil". He was actually my first champion that I ever bought when I first gave this game a go back in 2011. In every game I am normally drawn to the caster / mage type and Veigar looked like a good fit to try out.

He is super squishy but has one, if not the best, nuke in the game. He is the definition of a "glass cannon" caster. Normally, I don't like that in my casters, especially in PvP game. Knowing that if you make even a little mistake you can be one-shot by anyone is lame, but I don't know...there is something about this little dude that is overwhelming fun. He has a pretty shit early game, but if you can keep pace with your opponents you will completely own them come middle and late game.

I started playing him again and due to the fun factor, pretty much stop playing any other champion. This guide really helped me and the author did a great job putting it together. It goes over everything that you can possible want to know about Veigar and it is currently updated for season 4. There isn't much else I can say that the guide doesn't cover in detail, but here are my big takeaways / tips.

• One of my favorite things about him is that your opponent has to severely slow you in the early game (first 10-15 minutes or so). If not they will pay for it later on in the game. Due to this fact, it is best just to stay by your tower and try to farm as many minions as possible. 
• Veigar's main attack, Baleful Strike, gives a permanent Ability Power bonus if the unit dies. WTF? Yes, you did read that correctly. The more kills he gets with this spell, the stronger he becomes. FYI, there is no AP cap people. Most games you end up with over 1000 AP and this is what allows Veigar to melt opposing enemies' face completely off. It is silly. Try to kill units with this spell every single chance you get.
• The item, Deathfire Grasp, pretty much means your combo will take any champion from 100 to 0. It is crazy good for Veigar and is worth rushing. 
• Bottom lane is a good place to drift to for a gank after you push a wave of minions towards the enemy tower. They are normally more squishy then then the top lane. 

WTFspaghetti proudly presents...

A full game of your's truly playing Veigar against others in the solo queue. I started off pretty shaky and after watching it back noticed several mistakes and things that I could have done differently...but overall it turned out pretty well. 

My end game stats are below the video if you are interested. Follow me on the below links if you would be so kind. Until next time people!

Twitter - https://twitter.com/WTFspaghetti

TwitchTV - www.twitch.tv/wtfspaghetti

Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/user/WTFspaghetti

League of Legends - Preseason Changes / Rundown

The new season has not yet started, but the LoL pre-season is alive and well. I haven't been keeping up with all of the changes, so I figured I would share this awesome "run-down" video about most of the changes.



Seems to be pretty legit from a super casual fan of the game like myself. I especially like the free trinket / wards and changes to the Support role. If you are at all interested in LoL, I highly suggest that you atleast keep up with all of these changes.

Full list can be found on LoL's official website - here

Twitter - https://twitter.com/WTFspaghetti
TwitchTV - www.twitch.tv/wtfspaghetti

Hearthstone Beta - Spell Master Daily Quest

Hiya people! It looks like Blizzard is finally changing up some of their daily quests for Hearthstone. My daily quest yesterday was called "Spell Master" and it stated that I simply had to use 40 spells in Play or Arena mode.

I like the idea and I really enjoy Blizzard using their daily quest system to not necessarily force people to make new decks, but to have a focus point and build a deck around it. Does that make sense? I think it does...anyway, moving on!

So I made a new deck focusing on spells and I decided to go with the Mage class. Cards list can be found here and below is the breakdown.

When I first made it was I assuming it was going to be terrible, but I hoped it would be atleast fun. Well, it turned out to be not only fun, but highly successfully. I got my ass handed to me a few times by some rogues, but other then that held my own. I ended up going 8-2 on my stream last night.

Below is a couple YouTube videos I made cut directly from my twitch stream of some of the more entertaining games I played. Hopefully it helps you out if you ever get the Spell Master quest. Until next time, I'm WTFout!

UFC 167 - GSP "Stepping Away" and Dana White's Post Fight Comments

I decided to share this story because Dana White makes some valid points about the state of judging in MMA along with some choice words about GSP's comments after the fight. It doesn't matter if you watched last's nights UFC 167 PPV card or not, go ahead and watch the below three minute video and then read my take on it.

It does state who won in the GSP vs Johnny Hendricks fight however...so FYI. Full card results can be found here.



This is why Dana White is loved by fans of MMA. He is a fight fan and he speaks his mind without caring how he comes off to the general public. I don't know about you guys, but I really respect and appreciate that. I don't always agree with Dana, but the comments he made in the video I 150% agree with and I hope something positive comes out of it.  It should be an interesting week in the MMA world. I'll have to make sure to listen to some MMA Junkie Radio this week for all the juicy drama and fallout.

Here is a link to the full story. MMA fan? Thoughts on the card? Leave a comment on hit me up on Twitter.

Hearthstone Arena Fun

As mentioned in a previous post, I create a YouTube channel for the blog and have taking some baby steps with streaming on TwitchTV. I had about 300 gold in Hearthstone, so I figured that I would stream some arena. It was fun but also pretty weird. I mean, I was in my basement, by myself, playing a video game, and just talking to myself...

Standard play for someone that is streaming and also has plans to upload the video to YouTube...but man, it was fucking weird. No other way to explain it. I got used to it after a bit, but it was still very strange. The mic that I was using is pretty weak and I didn't want to talk too loud because my son sleeps right above my office, but I think it turned out okay and overall I enjoyed it.

I actually had a few viewers and got to chat with a buddy that found out I was streaming via twitter. Good times were had and so far I am 4-1 with this deck. I kinda want to play a game now, but I will save it for when I stream, no reason not to right?

Below is a highlight from last night's stream and was actually the first game on the Arena run. I must have fucked up on the editing because it cuts off about 15 seconds too soon...but I am sure you get the point of what happens. I would re-edit it and upload it again, but my mic audio is so terrible, its pretty pointless. My gaming headset broke during my Extra Life marathon so I had to bust out the old desktop microphone from my raiding days in World of Warcraft...lol. No fear though, I ordered me some hawt Turtle Beaches using the Amazon banner link from my favorite podcast, Ross Tucker Football Podcast. It helps the show out and I get something that I was going to buy anyway. It's a win, win, as they say.

Enjoy the highlight of the awesome synergy of a low mana minion deck with a Cult Master and an Alarm Bot.

WTF Video Post - GTAV Grandma thinks you're a WANKER

...and I agree with her!

It's Friday people, have a good laugh and be safe this weekend!

Hearthstone - Addiction At It's Finest

Ahh yes, good old Blizzard is back at it again with their super fun and addicting brand of video games. Thousands of suckers players like myself have been lucky enough to gain access to Blizzard's newest game, Hearthstone.

For those readers that aren't too familiar with the game, I highly suggest you check out the below video and the Official Website. Even if you are a super TGC nerd like me and know alot about the game, it is still a good read / watch.

Warriors, Mount Up!

I have dumped roughly 35+ hours into the game so far and I am highly impressed and hopelessly addicted. I don't think it's unhealthy though. I am not playing hours on end like other Blizzard games. It is just very accessible and most importantly, fun. The main reason why I have been able to play so much of the game is because I can play it on my Nexus 7 tablet via a free application called Splashtop. It's not the perfect setup, but it does work quite well. If you are in the beta and want to play the game on a mobile device I highly suggest it.

As mentioned in my previous Hearthstone post, I was mostly looking forward to trying out the Shaman and Warlock classes. While I have spent a good chunk of time on those two classes specifically, I found myself trying to figure out the Warrior class. I knew almost nothing about the Warrior class and after talking with a friend I decided give it a go. It plays very different then all of my other decks (mage, shaman, priest, lock) and it took me about 2-3 hours to really get the hang of it and make a decent deck.

During those hours of learning how to play I completed a hidden quest "Chicken Dinner" and earned 300 gold. With all this extra gold I decided to try my luck in Arena mode. It's 150 gold and even if you don't win a single game, you do get atleast 1 pack of cards and some extra dust / gold.

So the next night I sat down and hopped into the Arena for the first time. My classes to choose from were Rogue, Warrior, or Hunter.

The only classes that I do not have experience with playing are the Rogue and Hunter, so my choice was pretty clear...I am rolling Warrior. To my surprise it only took me about 3-5 minutes to choose my whole deck. Once I realize I was already at 30 cards I assumed that I am probably going to get rolled by others that put a little more thought into their deck. For the most part I was right. I won my first game but 3 games later I was sitting at 2 wins and 2 losses. In Arena mode, you only get 3 losses before its game over. The more games you win without losing 3 times, the better your reward at the end will be.

I was either getting owned HARD or barely winning my games...not a great sign for a deck. However, I went on a little win streak and ended my first Arena run with 5 wins. Not too bad. I don't think I can expect much more then that and even though I didn't get to 7+ plus wins, it was still a very fun experience.

Here is some helpful information that I used over the last few days while playing the Warrior class. My current Warrior deck is very similar to Mashdar#1871 Thrifty Warrior Deck (forum post here) with a little bit more AoE / board clearing. However, I am going to start working towards the below Warrior deck named "Pyro-Smith". Our boy Force has a few videos up on the deck and it looks really FUN. I can already think of a few variations that I would incorporate to suit my playstyle.

Thoughts? Comments? Just want to troll me? Follow me on Twitter and come say Hi! Until next time!

Hearthstone - Access Granted!

That's right people, I finally got my hands on the elusive Blizzard game that is still in closed beta, Hearthstone. What is even more shocking is that I got to play it last night for about 3 hours...IN A ROW!?!@?

...yeah I am paying that shit today but The Chive always seems to make my Mondays better. I don't about you, but I am betting that you are now subscribed to ZooToday's Youtube channel...

MOVING ON...

First Impressions

Solid looking game, but if you are like most people interested in this game, you already know that. You don't need some random dude on the internet tell you that shit. I have watched alot of game play from people in the beta via Youtube and Twitch. Due to this I thought that I would be able to jump in and start grinding away. Now, I am no 1337 pro or anything think, but I definitely thought I could carry my own and already have several ideas for custom decks.

Easy right? I was wrong. I didn't even have a great winning percentage against the normal and expert AI. Now this was playing with the standard decks and I only played with the Shaman. So after I got to level 10 I made a deck that focused on low mana cost cards that summoned other minions and attempted to ended the game around turn 5-6 with bloodlust. It worked out against the AI beautifully, but when I started playing ranked mode, it had some mixed results. The first night I went 6-2 and so far today I went 2-8 lol. I started fucking with it after a few losses and now I don't even remember what my original deck looked like when I posted the 6-2 record.

If you haven't already, I highly suggest you take a look at Force Strategy Gaming YouTube channel. He does alot of videos on custom decks and the strategy behind them. Even if you are not in the beta, it is pretty entertaining stuff in my opinion.

Here are some of my favorite ones from his channel. Due to work commitments the next few weeks, I am not going to be able to play much, but I will definitely use this blog as a means to talk about the game from this point forward. Are you in the beta? What so far has been your favorite class? Use the comment section or twitter to let me know freaks!!

League Of Legends - My Journey from Noob to Below Average - Entry 1

Thats right! I stated that I was going to document my journey on learning this game and I am actually doing it...quite shocking really. If you haven't checked out my first post about the game, go read that first and come back. Then my friends...my journey will begin!

HUURRRAH!

WTF IS A MOBA?!?

LoL is considered a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) and  is a sub-genre of the real-time strategy (RTS) genre, in which often two teams of players compete with each other in discrete games, with each player controlling a single character through an RTS-style interface.

Full wiki breakdown on the game here.

There was some pretty basic things that I was confused about...

Now, I know the basic concepts of the game and at its core, it is very simple. However, it can get complicated and complex fast. I started playing it a few years ago, but I only played against AI controlled opponents. Even then, it was clear that I wasn't even the best player on my team and after a few weeks I lost interest. This time around I told myself that I was going to make a much bigger effort and really dive into this game.

MY WTF I'M CONFUSED LIST

1. WTF do I do once mid and late game begin? Do I still focus on my lane and minions or do I try and work with my team and focus more on getting champion kills?

2. You are on a 5 man team and in order to succeed you need to communicate. I didn't know how to alert my team members and ping the map in at the same time. I knew how to chat with my team and ping the map separately, but in the heat of the battle sometimes you just don't have the time to type it out.

Example - "player 1 has targeted the inner turret"
Example - "player 3 alerts his team to retreat"
Example - "player 4 alerts his team to be careful"

3. What is up with the item tree and how does it work? If I buy an item that apart of a bigger recipe, does the main item get discounted?

4. I knew I had to last hit minions and that it was a big part of your individual income. However, when I would look on how many minion kills I had compared to my team, I was normally 4th or 5th by ALOT. WTF am I doing wrong?

5. The jungle and neutral monsters. I knew that they gave you buffs and gold and that the current "meta-game" is to have one champion on jungle duty the whole game. Sounds pretty easy I thought. I gave it a try and lets just say I was pretty lost and didn't realize what I was doing.

6. Terminology - Like the awesome noob that I am, I have no clue what terms people were using like "cs", "leash", and a "carry".

Dem Resources...

Over the course of a few days I have played 4-5 games all with very specific goals of answering these above questions and getting better. Normally I would read a few online articles and then I would search for a video of someone showing / explaining it. I think the combination of reading about it and then seeing someone do it is a winning formula. I tried to focus on 1 or 2 things at a time and then move on once I got a good understanding of what I should do.

One of the best resource sites that I have found for noobs and pros alike is MOBAFIRE. They have a huge LoL community and tons of guides. One of the guides that I like the most is a basic general guide to the game. It is not too often that I spend time reading through a whole guide, but it was so well put together and helpful for a noob like me, I just had to read it from start to finish.

Here is it in all its glory - The General Guide to League of Legends

I am happy to report that all of my questions on the above list I have been able to answer. I have started the process of practicing and can already tell a big difference in my game play. Don't get me wrong, I am still very much a noob, but now I at least have a good idea of how the game should go.

I played a game last night against the intermittent AI difficulty and two of my teammates seemed like me before I started reading up on how to play the game. They were doing a pretty terrible job of killing minions and they kept on dying. I think one of them ended up with 21 deaths or something like that. It was the first game that I thought we were going to lose and if the AI controlled champions wanted to end it, they could have easily. However, a few of us just kept on grinding away and to be honest, I have no idea how we ended up winning. It took over 100 minutes and it was the first game that I really learned the importance of the jungle and mini bosses buffs.

Notes / Take Aways / Tips

1. Pick one champion and stick with them.

That doesn't mean you cant play around with a bunch of champions, but I think the best way to learn the game and get good at it, is to stick with one champion that you like and master them. I am still messing around with a few, but I think I am going to roll with Malzahar exclusively. What can I say, I like dark magic characters and I like dots.../evil

2. Learn how to last hit and execute it EVERYTIME.

I didn't realize how important this concept was but after reading up and watching others play online...I couldn't of been more wrong. It is one of the easiest ways to improve your game.

3. Communicate with your team and recognize the transition from "laning" to team battles.

This was one of the most confusing things to me. I had no idea what to do in the mid game and didn't understand what my other teammates were doing. What really helped me recognize this is just watching other people play. I think one of the videos I watched actually stated that mid / late game was all about team battles first and farming minions second.

I am still trying to get used to pinging the map and emoting correctly. However, now that I know how, its only a matter of practicing.

Upcoming goals for entry 2...

1. Play against actual people. Even if I only do it a few times and get rolled. I need to start playing people to get a better understanding of the game and its fun factor.
2. Get better at last hitting.
3. Pay attention to the map more and work on my communicate emotes

Copy and Paste like a Pro

Here are some of the more helpful videos I watched. They cover quite alot and helped a noob like myself A TON.

Beginner Guides - I really enjoyed both of these and highly recommend the terminology video. 





Replay Analysts



Ranked Match in the Middle Lane - I loved watching this guy play and found his thought process very interesting



Until next time people, I'm WTFout!

League Of Legends Leading the Way

League of Legends has been out for a little over 4 years now and if you have paid ANY attention to the video game scene, you know how immensely popular the game is. I am a pretty frequent visitor to Twitch TV and I would say that LoL has the most viewers 95% of the time. Not to mention, its normally not even close in regards to viewership. As of right now, LoL has 82,000 viewers and the second most viewed game has 11,000 viewers.

I played the game for a few weeks awhile back and while it was fun, it never really held my attention for more then a few weeks at a time. In order to keep my A.D.D. at bay, a game has to be REALLY good and most importantly, fun. Now I know that alot of the fun with this game is playing with other people and working as a team. I only know a few people that play LoL and even if I knew more, my gaming schedule is anything but normal. So my playing experience has been almost exclusively solo.

So what made me take another look at LoL? As previously stated, I go to Twitch TV quite often and I am very used to LoL being the number 1 viewed game. However, this weekend when I took a look I couldn't help but to notice the overwhelming number of viewers...it was over a half of million people!!! Even with those numbers, I didn't think too much of it. I just assumed some major tourney was going on. It is pretty common for big eSport games to get similar viewer numbers during major tourneys. Though I would be lying if I said that I have ever seen over a half of million viewers tuned into one game on twitch.

I went on with the rest of my day and I couldn't help to notice one of my favorite YouTuber's, Husky StartCraft, live tweeting about this LoL tournament he was at. He wasn't apart of the broadcast team, just there as a fan. Oh yeah, it was also at the same arena where the LA Lakers play their home games...the Staples Center! The SOLD OUT Staples Center at that!

Okay, okay, now I you have my interest. I mean the fucking Staples Center?!? I went back to twitch and started watching the stream. It was grand finals and I have to say I was quite shocked on all the hype and excitement from the crowd. I watched the final few matches and I figured that I have to give this game another go around. See if I can't get what all this fuss is about. I mean who knows, maybe this is my chance to go pro and win millions of dollars...

...dreams can happen right? I wasn't joking about the millions though. The winning 5 man team took home a 2 million dollar prize. Quite balla for a group of teenagers if I don't say so myself.



Check out this great article GameSpot put out on the finals and the eSport scene. LoL is eSports right now people. I can't help but to get excited when I read these types of things. I love video games and if ESPN can broadcast bowling on a Saturday afternoon, then why the fuck not popular and competitive video games? Here is my favorite quote from the article...

"Riot Games Vice President of eSports Dustin Beck tweeted during Game 1 of the broadcast that there was an estimated 1 million concurrent users watching through Twitch, YouTube, and AzubuTV, with another 1 million concurrent users watching through streams in China and South Korea. Beck added in conservative estimates of an additional 4 million watching on TV in an unspecified number of countries."

The article does also mention that they are getting some major sponsors now as well adding that Coke Zero has signed on for the upcoming season. Step in the right direction I say right? Fuck yeah it is. Like the game or not, anyone that is for the expansion of eSports has to recognize that LoL is leading the way and that by itself is pretty flipping awesome.

I Canz Play Too?!?

That's right! Even a normal fat american like myself can play the game. It is the main game that has seen huge success from the FTP (free to play) game model. Unlike other games that use the model, you really do not get an advantage by paying for in game items. I am pretty noobish at the game and have yet to play against other players...only co-op vs AI bots. The game is extremely simple and like most really good eSports competitive games, it gets very complex and complicated fast. 

So far I've been struggling heavily, but also learning quite a bit. I plan to document my journey in this blog from noob to below average...

...I know I am setting the bar high right? We shall see how it goes and hopefully it will turn out a fun and enjoyable experience to play and also write about. I have a few helpful links listed on my page under the Gaming section that pertain to LoL. It is also a given that I will copy and paste all the best information I find helpful like the awesome blogger I am.  

Follow me on twitter and leave a comment if you like. If not, its okay...I know this blog is your dirty secret.

GTAV Reviews - Shit is Bananas

B A N A N A S!

We are less then 1 day away from the release of GTAV and the reviews are out. I am not going to link a ton of them, but I am going to link a few videos and a write up that I think are pretty legit and well put together.

Not going to lie people. I have high expectations and after seeing what some of these sites are rating the game...well, lets just say that my expectations raised a few more notches. Shit seems to be bananas!!

Both reviews are completely spoiler free, but the IGN one does show quite alot of gameplay. So if you want to be completely surprised, I wouldn't watch the IGN review. CVG has been all over the coverage of GTAV and their write up on it is top notch.

I am still very excited to play the game, but I am not going to lie...the next few weeks are pretty jammed packed and I just don't see me getting in that much game play time in without sacrificing alot of my sleep...

...stupid work.

Anyway, enjoy the new world that Rockstar has created for us and if you are not following me on twitter, do it and come yell at me...or you know, say hi. That works too.

BYE





http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/09/16/grand-theft-auto-v-review

WTF Video Post - The Real Story of the Kardashians...

WTFspaghetti's True Hollywood Story - Keeping Up With The Kardashians #TRUESTORY #TRUTH

GTAV - Bring on the Addiction

Addiction - the quality or state of being addicted. To devote or surrender (oneself) to something habitually or obsessively

Yea, ever since I saw Rockstar's gameplay trailer of their up coming game, GTAV, I've been addicted. It has been consuming my thoughts at an alarming rate. I have found myself up late at night pondering important stuff like if I will still be alive when the singularly happens between humans and robots. Or if in my life time we will find another planet with Goldie-lock conditions to sustain human life...

...or if you have to buy gas to fill up your vehicle in a video game or not.

In my pursuit to feed my money brain with any possible information on this subject, I ran across this Q&A with the guys over at Rockstar. Due note, that this actually came out before last weeks gameplay video and some questions that were asked have already been answered. But hey, its news to me...so maybe some of the other poor saps that read this blog will find it interesting as well.

Our friends over at GTAVo'clock went through this Q&A indepth and also touched on a few different aspects that I have not heard discussed anywhere else. 

Steam's Summer Deals

As you probably guessed it, I am fucking excited about GTAV and I will continue to make posts about it as
I see fit.

Someone has to inform the masses right?!?

I should mention that currently, Steam, has their summer sale deals going on and as of yesterday, I was able to purchase a GTA package (GTA III, Vice City, San Andreas, GTA IV, and both episodes from Liberty City - Ballad of Gay Tony / Lost and Damned) for only 20 bucks. I was planning on just getting the two newest additions, but I couldn't pass up on the deal. 

I haven't tried loading up GTA III, but over the weekend I played the rest of them. They all still hold up and I have been having a blast fucking around in Liberty City in the Ballad of Gay Tony. I have never played a GTA game on a PC before. So there was, and still is, a large learning curve for me. Especially when it comes to driving. I am digging it so far though and at the moment, it is feeding my addiction...

Until next time freaks

Grand Theft Auto - The King of the Sandbox

I don't even know what to say right now. In fact, before I even do anything else, check out the new game play trailer that Rockstar games released this morning of their upcoming installment, Grand Theft Auto 5. Then check out my thoughts below.

Also, while you are there, go ahead and subscribe to YouTuber, TmarTn. You will not be disappointed.

Ok, now WATCH!!

Trailer Review

Ok, now that you are all moist and feeling hot and bother...I'll continue. First of all, wow. Very impressive. I was expecting it to be good, but damn son!

I love the three main characters. The GTA series has always focused on one particular character and his journey through the story line. The main character always has a very interesting, full, and diverse background story. So when the developers were thinking about what type of person they want to center this game around...why the fuck limit yourself to one character?!?

Sure it is a ton more work, but they got the time...and more importantly, the money.

LOVE. IT.

One of the things that is most interesting to me is the switching between characters during a mission. As you saw in the video, one guy was flying a chopper, one was sniper support, and one was holding a guy hostage. I for one am very intrigued in how the developers are going to allow the player to switch between the characters. My guess would be that the game would force you to a certain character's perspective / role, but who knows at this point. The way I viewed the scene in the trailer was that you can switch on the fly and if that is the case, this game is going to have some of the most insane replay value in recent memory.

The massiveness! Fuck'n A breh!

The GTA series has always been the king of the sandbox genre. As someone that grew up playing all of the Rockstar GTA games, they will always be held as the pillars that hold up the entire category in my mind. I remember spending thousands of hours doing stupid crap like looking for a certain type of car to steal and bring back to the docks. How about delivering pizzas for hours on a moped? Yup, I've done it. Why you ask? No fucking clue. However, the amount of freedom and thought that goes into making every single GTA game is outstanding.

GTA 5 seems to continue this pattern with the crazy massiveness of the game play area. Seeing all of it and knowing all of the things you can do and experience leaves me kinda speechless. I just hope they can pull it off with all of these things going on at the same time. I REALLY hope we don't have any technical issues that cut into or downgrade the game play.

Yes, I am talking to you Bethesda. Skyrim PS3 users know what I'm talking about.

Shoot them up

GTA is, at its heart, an open world game about violence, guns, and cars. Smoothness of how these mechanics work is very important. Some will say it is by far the most important aspect of the game and I tend to agree. Looking at the video from the 4:05 to 4:16 mark, it is very obvious that the game designers had this in mind.

That 11 second clip is what got me the most excited about the game hands down. It looks so smooth and fun. If it plays as well as it looks, I can see my life getting engulfed very easily.

Missions - How they work!?!

The video spends a full minute of going over the freedom and the customization of performing missions in the game. See the 4:30 to 5:30 mark. I hate to sound like a fan boy and just praising the developers, but man, I really like this idea as well. It just adds another layer on to the game.

You want to be sneaky and smooth when doing this mission? Go for it. Oh wait, you just want to go in there guns blazing, daring the cops to come stop you? Yeah, you can do that too.

Total freedom. Its what the game is all about and I love that they added it in to the game. Nothing is final, but I hope this feature makes it to the final product.

Final Thoughts...

How dare you rockstar. How f'n dare you leave us hanging like that? I mean really, could you of left us on a bigger cliff hanger then what you did? I am chill'n out in some sort of high-rise flat with a phat view of the city and a fucking jet comes scorching by my window. As I investigate further I realize that it was an actual player. The closer I look that more I realize that everyone that I see is an actual player.

Players in cars, walking, in planes, helicopters...is this some sort of MMO!?! Perhaps a MMO mode?!!1?one?

...and you say..."oh yea, this is the multiplayer...we will show you that soon"

not cool Rockstar...

I hope you are happy. Your point was made and you got all of us hooked in and wanting more. Good job so far. Don't let all the hype and positive reviews get to you though. This game has the potential of being one of the greatest of all time and I for one hope it is.

New reader? Check out the rest of the blog and share with your friends. Hugs and kisses bitches, until next time.

2010 Best Fails of the Year

I know I've been posting alot of video clips from various sites and acting like I am writing a blog article....

but fuck it...this shit is funny and its Sunday. So watch this video and then go BBQ and drink beers mmk? In the near future I'll actually try to write an article

...perhaps

Enjoy

Happy Memorial Day

PSA - Why You Should Let Your Girl Win Sometimes...

I don't know if this is fake or not, but in my opinion its hard to tell lol. You got to really want to get a laugh out of people because as you will see in the video...things get umm...yea, you will see.

Fellas, here is a pro tip. If you girl is cool enough to play games with you, especially a FPS game like Call Of Duty....don't completely own her. When my girl plays, I give her every chance to kill me, plus I purposely try to not kill her until she is looking at me and shooting me.

I don't do it all the time, but if I have killed her a few times in a row, I make sure I do it. Otherwise, a situation may just happen to you like the one below.

Now get some popcorn ready and watch the madness unfold.