Animal Crossing: New Leaf

"New Leaf" builds upon old tricks

In its GameCube debut, "Animal Crossing" showed the world that Nintendo can contend with the best when it comes to the life simulation genre.
A laid back atmosphere, colorful NPC interactions and simple, yet addicting gameplay helped the title become popular despite competition with games such as "Harvest Moon" and "The Sims." Since the original game's release, there have been three more installments, and even after four iterations and 12 years little has changed in the wild, creature-filled game that is Animal Crossing.
As "New Leaf" is much of the same, it makes more sense to speak about what sets it apart from the rest of the Animal Crossing games.
Will this game's additions set it apart enough to give it a distinct personality, or will the new elements even make a difference to a series this popular?
The first obvious change players will notice is the role he/she will take within their respective towns. Upon arrival, villagers will greet players as the town's mayor. Although it takes a few days to begin mayoral duties, it doesn't take long to learn how to fulfill your duties. As mayor, public works projects and ordinances can be built and enforced to personalize the town to the player's liking. For example, towns only start with one bridge to cross the river that splits the city into two. The player can then start a public works project to build another bridge. Lamp posts, fences, store upgrades and many other projects can be taken on in the same way to create a more advanced town. Project funds are acquired by a donation system that can contributed to by players, NPCs or visiting players. The system is a small detail, but what is Animal Crossing but a bunch of fun, tiny details that create a game filled with personality?
Ordinances allow the player to create laws that change the town specifically to suit his/her needs. The "beautiful town" perk cleans the town up in many ways, including getting rid of cockroaches, eliminating all trash in the ocean and river and lowering the chance that flowers will wither. These ordinances are wonderful additions because they allow the player to interact with their town in the way they choose. If a player works an early morning shift in real life they can create an ordinance that allows them to enjoy "New Leaf" when they have more free time. Again, it's a small change, but it shows the developers want to give players more bang for their buck, and these changes definitely do just that.
A new mechanic brought to "New Leaf," comparable to fishing and bug catching, is swimming. By wearing a wetsuit, players can take a dip in the ocean and dive for underwater treasures such as seaweed and sea stars. These items can be given to the museum to display and can also be sold to the store for a few extra bells. While it might not be the most fascinating mechanic, it's something for players to do when they get tired of the same old song and dance that previous games offered.
Speaking of the same old song and dance, "New Leaf" has at least expanded upon the number of fish and bugs that can be caught by 12 respectively. Veterans and newcomers can both appreciate an update like this, even if it is just a couple extra bug and fishy faces added to the mix.
Last, but not least, the museum is a facet of Animal Crossing that has always added extra challenge to the game. In "New Leaf," the museum can be given a second floor after certain conditions are met and a specific public works project is presented to the player. Once the second floor is built, players can then display items of their own choice, so when other players visit their museum it will have its own unique feel, and no two museums will be the same. "New Leaf" may not be a major series overhaul, but in this case why fix something that isn't broken? Players are given more options in the latest Animal Crossing installment, and despite how small those options are, they assist "New Leaf" in being the most wholesome title to date. If gamers enjoyed other entries in the series there is no reason they shouldn't give "New Leaf" a try. It's just as addictive, personal and enchanting as the rest, with a few new touch-ups to boot. So grab your bug net, fishing rod and shovel, and get ready to be bell hunting for months to come in this have-it-your-way game.
This game get an 8 out of 10.

Retro Review: Tomba!

Silly sidescroller hindered by obscure interactions

With the advent of the Playstation 1 and Nintendo 64 came 3-dimensional graphics and a whole new world of possibilities in gaming. Titles like "Spyro," "Banjo-Kazooie" and "Crash Bandicoot" soared into popularity with their immersive environments and 3-D modeled characters. Even Mario received an upgrade in all of the madness and made a new appearance with his video game "Super Mario 64."
However, despite the success of these "evolved" titles, there were still some games that stuck to the platformer formula made famous by the iconic plumber years ago.
"Tomba!" is a great example of a game that used 2-D and 3-D elements to craft an original experience worth the time of any gamer in the late '90s and maybe even today.
The game starts rather abruptly after a short hand-drawn cutscene where the main character, Tomba, a pink haired, primitive-looking boy, has his golden bracelet stolen by some evil pig henchmen. "Tomba!" takes no time to set the wacky tone it would have throughout that it maintains through the combination of dialogue, environment and story line. The rest of the game is spent controlling Tomba as he makes his way through the world in search of defeating the seven evil pigs that are responsible for the theft of his golden bracelet.
While the game may create its own personality in the zaniness that is "Tomba!," it also creates problems for gamers as they struggle to determine which clues are fact and which are there to be funny. For example, during one part of the game a plant that is oddly shaped like a human's backside must be used to shrink a pig foe to a smaller size with the fumes it expels. First encountering the plant, a player might laugh and move on, forgetting it as nothing more than a joke, but as the game progresses it turns out the player must return to the plant if he/she wishes to progress the story line. It's not a huge problem to deal with, it just makes an already odd experience unnecessarily cryptic.
This leads players to wonder "where is my mission list?" A mission list skips the confusing bits of dialogue and gets right down to brass tax ... in most games. After a player realizes the mission list is not located in the normal start menu, but rather by pressing select, they can see just how unhelpful this menu is. When Tomba needs to gain experience to grab a special item or open a gate the mission list will often state general facts such as "collect AP points for something special" or "find the Jewel of Fire to unleash the hidden powers from within." The game automatically assumes the player will know how to obtain AP points or how to get the specific experience to pick up the Jewel of Fire. Although it does give added difficulty, it's an unnecssary difficulty players will have little patience to move forward from, and it will leave gamers asking themsleves what their drive is to complete the game.
Despite the often limited guidance "Tomba!" offers, there are many facets the developers should be proud of. First off, the game controls beautifully as Tomba can run, jump, swing and swim his way to victory. There are some small points in the game where controls can be a bother, but for the most part "Tomba!" offers fluid movements to players that take little to no time to master. The comforatbility created by this ease gives way to many unique interactions that feel rewarding when conquered. Weapons and other items control just as smoothly and help diversify the experience gamers will have as they make their way to the final boss fight.
The presentation of "Tomba!" matches the tone set by the first cutscene in that it is a colorful, goofy landscape filled with evil pigs carrying pitchforks, a forest covered in what looks like Dippin' Dots and mushrooms that can cause a sudden burst of happiness or a profound sadness. The world is just big enough to have variety, but small enough to make players feel cozy, and most everything in the game is hand drawn, and even though character models can often overlap, it appears a great deal of time and effort went into creating the wonderous world of "Tomba!". Although cutscenes add to the game's story line and personality, their presence is far too few and far between leaving the player begging for more. Even the game's final cutscene is less than a minute, which is a shame considering how great the cutscenes look and how much they liven up the game. Emotion through scenery is conveyed well through the soundtrack. When Tomba is in a cave the player knows whether or not it is a scary cave by the dark and mysterious melodies the specific area is characterized by. While this does ring true for the soundtrack, there are multiple background noises that are frequently repeated, which not only annoys the gamers but detracts from the uniqueness developed through backgrounds and character design.
Despite confusing missions and overplayed background noises "Tomba!" is a pleasant, little game with a story line that doesn't call for too much thinking. Hand-drawn environments and funny interactions give way to a relaxed feeling that gamers will come to appreciate as they realize how intense and involved many games of this generation have become. "Tomba!" is an interesting blast from the past that old and young gamers alike should give a chance to. Although it hasn't exactly aged like fine wine, "Tomba!" still puts a smile on the face and challenges gamers to overcome obstacles to reach an ultimate goal, so what more can you ask for?  The game can take more than 20 hours to complete, and players will most likely turn to guides as some of the quests in "Tomba!" require more than just a strong intuition and willpower to complete. This PS1 classic can be purchased on the Playstation Network and gets 7 evil pigs out of 10.

'Metro: Last Light' review

Small details help 'Last Light' shine bright 

                In a day and age where first-person shooters are a dime a dozen, it can be difficult for developers to create games in the genre that stand out from the pack. Many shooters use big explosions and even bigger bad guys to cover up a weak story line, and most of the time copies still fly off of store shelves. Developer 4A Games released “Metro: Last Light” and proved that it doesn’t take the grandeur that FPSs are known for to make an immersive, memorable experience.

                While “Last Light” doesn’t exactly turn its nose up to over-the-top theatrics, the most standout moments come from subtleties such as NPC background dialogue and wiping a mask off to clear a player’s field of vision. It’s in these details that drive the game forward and give it the rough personality people will recognize it for.

                “Last Light” is a sequel to “Metro: 2033” and follows Artyom, the original title’s main character, in his quest to rescue the last survivor of a strange species known as the Dark Ones, a race of creatures Artyom helped destroy in “2033.” He has to compete with Communists and Nazis (because it’s not a true shooter without Nazis, right?) in order to get to the young Dark One and attempt to rescue the remaining humans that reside in the Metro with its unknown abilities.

                The game handles like any other shooter, so Call of Duty and Halo players will immediately feel at home with the controls. What sets this game apart, though, is the survival horror elements it integrates into the experience, which demands players act sharp to stay alive. For example, there are environments in the game that require the use of a gas mask. If the mask is damaged too much or the player runs out of filters for the mask, Artyom dies. This proves to be quite a task to take on when a pack of giant, mutated rats are gnawing on your face.

                This is where stealth comes into the game. By staying in dark places, crouching or flanking enemies, certain sneak attacks can be used to quietly subdue foes and generate no attention. Most areas offer means to outwit or avoid baddies, so the clever player will always be rewarded.

                Other small steps that need to be taken for survival include regularly charging your flashlight, switching badly damaged gas masks and wiping your mask when blood or mud spatters onto it, which obscures vision.

                While being frustrating at times, these fine adjustments add a sense of realism and urgency to “Last Light” that future survival horror shooters should take note of. “Last Light” finds a pleasant balance with these mechanics and adds just enough difficulty without making the game feel like one big chore.

                Gun selection is limited, but the weapons available can be customized in numerous ways such as laser sights or adding a silencer. These customizations can either add firepower or make it easier to remain unnoticed among many enemies. Guns can also be scavenged from fallen foes, and any customizations on a foraged gun will be displayed before it is taken. Players can carry up to three guns with them at a time, and an array of side weapons, such as grenades and throwing knives, bulk up your inventory.

                On “Last Light’s” normal difficulty, certain parts can be a challenge, but is never too easy or hard. Ranger mode offers heightened difficulty and can be purchased on the PS3 store for five USD. “Last Light” takes about 10-13 hours and awards players for exploring areas with extra ammo, filters and story line notes to be collected.

                Enemy intelligence is nothing to write home about and in a few times during my play experience an enemy failed to spot me when I was in plain sight, only inches away from them. Glitches can also be found in both enemies and environment but they are small and infrequent enough to forgive.  

                Presentation in this game is incredible and takes the small details enforced by the gameplay and gives them a place in both the environment and story line.

                One of the most impressive aspects of this lies within NPC interactions, whether it is between Artyom or the NPCs themselves. A few times in the game Artyom will be taken to a city. Here players can buy ammo or guns and can customize the weapons they already own, but the real draw comes from the inhabitants of these run down places. Upon entering these cities a loud bustle of conversation can be heard, and when Artyom walks close enough to NPCs they can hear, in detail, what the people are saying. These interactions aren’t mandatory for the game, but they can offer clues that will help players in their travels or can offer insight into “Last Light’s” story. Conversations can go for three minutes and beyond, which shows how much effort 4A Games put into this game’s voice acting.

                Other environmental details such as howls in the distance, screams coming from a room over or skeletons on a crashed plane create an eerie vibe that builds in intensity as the game progresses. The music is minimal, but adds to the creepy wasteland and tunnels being traversed. Sounds move along the game more than anything, which helps build the realism founded by the gameplay early on.

                The story line is interesting and has a few twists and turns that players will have mixed feeling about. A variety of dreams, flashbacks and assorted visions give a surreal feeling to players but leads to a fulfilling ending that can be seen in one of two ways.

                In all, “Metro: Last Light” is much more than your average shooter. Obscure interactions help fill the game with personality and puts players in Artyom’s shoes. Some minor glitch issues, average AI and a small weapon selection take away from the game, but the positives far outweigh the negatives.

                 “Last Light” proves that shooters don’t have to be all about the guns and uses realism to draw gamers down into the gritty underbelly of the Metro.

                This game gets an 8.5 out of 10.

This article can also be seen on powerupgaming.co.uk.

Gamer Interview- Chris Brittain

REVIEW ME: Chris Brittain

Question #1: When were you first introduced to games and what game was it?
Answer: I'd have to say the classic Super Mario Bros. I used to play it but I wasn't even that good. I didn't really have the awareness for the game play. I inherited the system after that.

Question #2: What's your fondest memory of gaming as a child or ever?
Answer: I don't know about one moment in specific in my life, but it's that moment in gaming when you finally figure something out by yourself or you realize how to complete a puzzle and then you do it. Like in Final Fantasy 3 when you realize you don't have to fight Phantom Train because you can just one shot him with a Phoenix Down. That's why I hate strategy guides because they just ruin moments like that for people.

Question #3: Would you consider gaming a hobby of yours, or more of a lifestyle?
Answer: It's becoming more popular and socially acceptable to make it a lifestyle to be a video game player. If not I'd say it's one of my core hobbies. You're drawing a fine line here when you say lifestyle choice though. You can't say it's an addiction, that's a cop out because it's not affecting my life detrimentally but it's definitely a big part of my routine.

Question#4: Favorite thing about gaming right now?
Answer: My favorite thing in gaming is the excitement and intensity of competitive play. You can always tell the video game players who play casually in comparison to the people who play competitively by the way they react to a loss. When a competitive player loses he has a back up plan he has a way to adapt and make him or herself win the next round. A competitive player is flexible in what they do.

Question #5: Least favorite thing about gaming right now?
Answer: It's all about the players who play the top tier characters just to win. It's fun for nobody. They don't take any risks and that's lame. They just take the safe choice to secure a win. It takes the fun out of the game even from a spectator's position.

Question #6: Favorite genre of video game and why?
Answer: Its always been RPG's for me. I played Halo, what can I tell you about Master Chief? Nothing at all. After I played Chrono Trigger I could write a detailed report on each character and I still can. That's what I love. I love character development and there's no better genre for that than RPG's. I think in Super Mario RPG is when I started feeling bad for Bowser. It developed him and his story so much and it was only fully possible with the help of RPG story telling elements. I like characters I care about and I like a good villain. Some of my favorite would be Bowser, Kefka and Magus.

Question #7: What's your favorite RPG and why?
Answer: It's absolutely Chrono Trigger. I've thought about this thoroughly and it's hands down Chrono Trigger. For its time it was incredibly innovative and and progressive with things ranging from the battle system to its story line to its character development. There's like 13 or 14 different endings and the course of the game changes and the world changes depending on how you progress, that game came out over 10 years ago. That sort of game play is still being heavily implemented now, it's a staple now. Back then was completely unheard of. What else? The villain was incredible and I actually gave a shit about him and cared about his back story. I haven't had that to the same extent since. The music is more than just impressive and really everything about the game is incredibly solid.

I love fighting games because they make you play to your strengths and they challenge you to be the best and they drive you, but with RPG's you care about the actual game, the piece of work in front of you and not so much how well you do but how the characters you're playing as progress through their lives.

Question #8: Explain your love of and history for Super Smash Bros. Melee? How many hours have you put in?
Answer: They say to master anything you need 10,000 hours of practice. On my console alone I have 6,000 hours all together? Shit, I'd probably say abot 7,000 to 8,000 hours. I started playing Smash Bros. 64 in my buddies basement back in the day. It was Donkey Kong versus Pikachu and we played 99 stocks and saw who could do 99 back throws first. When it came to Melee my friend Angelo played the game to the fullest and immersed himself completely and he dragged me in with him. I got pretty serious with the game when I saw some technical players play and I honed my skills the best I could from videos on the internet and I played Luigi. Eventually, Angelo stopped playing and I took up the mantle of Captain Falcon. It wasn't until 2009 that I participated in my first tournament called "Show Me Your Moves" and I thought I had no chance. I played for a few rounds and I did well and then finally I came up against a player called "Nesn00b". I lost, but that was a good thing. It made me want to get that much better at the game and it really drove me further to become a solid player and from there I really did get much better and gained knowledge I wouldn't have if I continued to think I was the best because I beat this one random guy at this tournament. Because of that I realized how fast the game was, how I could best take advantage of certain situations and how I could ultimately become a better all around player. I took on more tournaments and started doing better. But before all of the tournaments there was Brawl.... which really made me appreciate how good and fleshed out Melee really is. Brawl has a skill cap in comparison to Melee. Players are more rewarded for playing defensively and safe than how good they actually are. I'm not saying there's no skill involved, but it's definitely toned down drastically. It was the sequel that no one liked.

Question #9: Explain the Smash community to me.
Answer: It's a huge group of people from all around the world that want to pick up the game. It's very popular among college kids or high school kids. Just people who have some extra time on their hands and want to pick up a pretty expansive game. I mean, there are some married people who play too and there are some girls who play, but usually they don't get quite as good. I don't mean to be sexist but generally they don't commit the time to their games like guys do. It could be a sex thing it could be how we're raised but for some reason you don't see many really good female players. Smashboards.com is the central hub for Smash Bros. because it shows beginners how the game works, it shows other players where tournaments are and it really just brings everyone who shows or has interest for the game together. I met so many people through this community.

Chris Brittain is a gamer who primarily spends his free time playing Super Smash Bros. Melee and Project Melee. He doesn't consider himself a pro although he does compete with the likes of some well known players such as Armada, Taj, Darkrain, Hax, Kage. Videos for all of these players can be found on youtube. Some of the people he has played in Melee are from Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, California, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, Sweden and Israel to name a few and remember this game has no online. He has played in many Midwest states in California and hopes to continue playing for years to come. If I could give any piece of advice to a person trying to become good at a game don't just become as good as you need to be be as good as you possibly can be. Also, if you want to win, by all means, play the top tier characters, but if you want to have fun stick with the character you love and deal with their flaws. It makes for a better understanding of the game and an all around more enjoyable experience for everybody.

Give me some videos that best sum you up:

Robo's Theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOWf_T0jdgQ
Kefka Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=395kZApqb_M

Chris vs. Armada: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nosNfmhljSQ
Chris vs. Taj: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0_FdNfdG3A
Chris vs. Ripple in Project M: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHhPy7EPEuM

Chrono Trigger vs. Magus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtC5RNaguzo

Captain Falcon guide by Scar: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=227344
Frame Data guid by Angelo Bangelo: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=222781

Hope you all enjoyed the interview. Until next time... SEICHUSAN GODANZUKI!

Borderlands 2 Preview- Why Fix it If It Ain't Broke?

After watching one of the many gameplay videos for Borderlands 2 I have come to the conclusion that this is going to be very similar to the first one. If you don't believe me see for yourself in this video. See? Told you, jackass. Now, the real question is and will always be whether or not this is a good thing. For the betterment of gaming, this is terrible, for fans of the series who wanted a straight up sequel... well let's just say there's a lot of people creamin' their pants right now.

The story revolves around something or whatever and the main character needs to kill bad people. Easy enough. I remember playing Borderlands and loving the gameplay, but by the end I wasn't really sure why I was so happy that I won. It was just... "Yay, I won.". That's ok, I loved the gameplay so it made up for it, but for people who disliked the first game because of the forgettable storyline you might want to steer clear of this one.

As far as the gameplay goes it looks like the face-shooting, leveling up goodness is all still intact. Players still have a skill tree they can put experience points into and gain new abilities as their character grows. Vehicles are still present in the game and now come equipped with four seats instead of the two from the first game. The last game had one billion ka-jillion different guns... THIS ONE HAS TWO BILLION KA-JILLION GUNS. My point is everything from the first game is still there and it's more fleshed out in most cases, but there aren't too many new gameplay mechanics I've seen besides having a trade menu instead of having to manually drop weapons and having your partner manually pick them up. Nice additions, but nothing tremendous. Also, graphics are pretty much the same. No upgrades really, but for a game like this who cares. It's not Final Fantasy or Halo where that shit's pretty much expected.

I'm most likely going to pick this game up. I have a friend who'll sit there and share the experience with so hell I could probably just wait for him to get it and write something based on that, but I'm not by any means expecting this game to blow me away and quite frankly I'll be surprised if it's much better than the first one, but hey, this industry is based around sticking to formulas that work so what's the point of even complaining about one that does that once? I also know a game like this will have plenty of DLC's, one of which will include an additional character, so I'm not worried about a lack of content here either.

Overall, I expect this game to be pretty well received by critics and will most likely get scores that range from 8 to 9.5. If you loved the first "role-playing shooter" you're most likely gonna love this. Here's a couple of videos to hold you over until its release:

1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW7qO_wpfvk
2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8U7nYb3ts7w
3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d91Zvujs5g
4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvHqocIPn2s

If you don't care about Borderlands 2 I don't understand why you're still reading but here's something for you too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuFF_6bg4T4&feature=fvst
Ha... now you're gay.

Check out the new kid on the block!

So I guess I'm inspiring people all over the world with this little blog! Well, that may be a steaming pile of bullshit, but, a friend of mine did start a blog on game reviews and I'd like to think I'm at least partially responsible for that. Anyways, this guy's a smart ass and I pretty much enjoy anything he has to say about games so I strongly suggest you to check out what he's writing and I guarantee you'll love his backhanded remarks about everything games by the time you're done reading.  The name of his blog is brutalgamereview.blogspot.com so get over there and check out his commentary on Darksiders 2 and an overall commentary on the gaming industry as a whole. Warning: Do not read if you take games too seriously and have major crushes on certain franchises. He will bash them and you will be butt hurt. Other than that enjoy the sarcastic insight this guy has to offer!

Guest Reviewer- Daniel Culligan

Guild Wars 2 Review: Part 1

By: Dan Culligan

                If you are any type of PC gamer, chances are you’ve heard of Guild Wars 2. It’s a game that has been pegged with tons of hype from media and gamers alike, and it was to the point that a lot of people were worried it wouldn’t be able to live up to its foretold grandeur. I was one of those people who thought it could only disappoint with all the excitement about it, but it not only lives up to the hype, it exceeds what I thought it could be.

                When you first start up the game you are asked to choose between 5 different races: the Sylvari (Plant people born from a tree), Charr (Cat people-esque creatures), Asura (Think dobby from Harry Potter), Norn (Nordic people), and of course your average human. Each race has certain racial abilities but they are not designed to give any certain race a distinct advantage over the other. These abilities can range from being condition removals all the way up to letting you summon creatures to help you in the heat of battle. The powers are nice but they truly give no one race an advantage over the other, and this is a good thing as other MMOs have had many people upset with balance issues in the past. 

After choosing your race you are asked to choose from one of eight different professions: Warrior, Guardian, Elementalist, Engineer, Ranger, Necromancer, Theif, and Mesmer. Warrior being your average choose a weapon and hit people with it, Guardians are kind of like warriors with magic, Elementalist uses the elements to win fights (as per the name), Engineer uses turrets, traps, and bombs to take on their enemies, Ranger gets a pet companion and is mostly a projectile profession, Necromancer can summon creatures and place curses, Thief is a more sneaky, stabby type of profession, and Mesmer can project images of themselves to distract enemies and players alike. Now, people will be tempted to tag a specific role to each of these professions, but a big point of this game is that there are no defined roles to a profession. This means that there is no tank, healer, or DPS specific profession. In fact, the game has done away with these roles completely and the abilities you use will be based on the weapon you are carrying. For instance, a warrior carrying a mace and a shield will have more defensive abilities built around preventing incoming damage and keeping himself alive, while a warrior carrying a great sword is purely offense and is concentrated on pumping out damage.

This weapon system is something that is brand new to MMOs and it seems to be working out quite well. As you use a weapon you will start out with only an auto attack, but the more you use it, the more skills you unlock. The way the abilities are set up in the interface are the first three corresponding to your main hand and the last two corresponding to your off hand, unless you are using a two handed weapon, which will take up all five weapon skills. Now this system is great if you have a class that can use a lot of weapons, but if you are a class more limited to what weapons you can use, it can seem like you don’t have much to look forward to once you have unlocked all the abilities for the weapons you are using. With all the other stuff to do in the game, though, you won’t have to worry much about being entertained by your weapon.

This brings me to my next point. This game is loaded with content. I can’t speak for the end game but I’ve never had so much to do while I’ve been leveling. Between the vistas (viewpoints that you have to find a way to climb up to), the dynamic events and renown hearts you will never be bored while playing this game. Oh and by the way, you get experience for everything you do in this game, even for just gathering stuff that you need for crafting. This helps the game never feel like a grind, which is a big deal when it comes to MMOs. Most games try to hide grind but don’t really accomplish it, but this game really succeeds in doing so with the way the questing system is set up. It removes quest givers and instead gives you empty golden hearts on your map that when you enter the area around them it gives you a list of things you can do and gives you a bar that fills up as you do them. Not knowing that you have to collect a certain amount of a things keeps it from feeling like you are doing the same thing over and over.

The last thing I want to cover in part 1 of this review is how beautiful this game is. It is the best looking MMO I have ever played. I have gotten entertainment from just walking around and looking at the scenery that the game presents to you. The vistas really help show this off and they also allow you to get a little experience on the side as a little extra incentive. I’ve never seen this much attention to the environment in an MMO in my long time playing them and it is a very refreshing thing to have in a game.

Well, that’s it for now. I’ve still got a lot to get through in this game so I can give you guys my final grade on it. So far, it’s pretty incredible and I expect it to stay that way. In my next part I will go in depth with the dynamic events as well as give you my impressions on the zones that I have been working through on my Norn Warrior and even get into a little on the PvP side of things. Keep checking back for more.

This article was written by Daniel Culligan, a good friend of mine and man who has played many different games. Personally, I've seen him play the likes of Batman: Arkham City, Resident Evil 4, NCAA Football 12, the Mass Effect series, the Uncharted series and Battlefield 3 just to name a few. He is from Louisville, Kentucky and is currently a junior studying creative writing. If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me at aflynn@dailyegyptian.com and I will send the message to Dan. Hope you enjoyed the article and keep your eyes out for the second Guild Wars 2 review by Dan coming soon.