LAGWAR | GAMING'S BEST IN TOP NOTCH MEDIOCRITY» Writers Vault

Love in a Time of Text (Part Two)

Syeric — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 02:42:00 +0000

This is the second part of a two part tale beginning Valentine’s week. It is about a love formed in the early days of online gaming between two souls only known by their names in a full-text world. Read part one here. After that first meeting and painful goodbye, Solaron and Kitrana’s mornings together took... [Continue Reading]

Love in a Time of Text

Syeric — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 06:44:03 +0000

What follows is Part I of a two part tale. Stay tuned for the conclusion, Monday! In the spirit of this week’s holiday, I thought I’d share a story on love forged in the fires of 1990’s text-based gaming. A couple that met and originally flourished in the transits and byways of the imagination, and... [Continue Reading]

Dawn of War II: Retribution

Brad West — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 01:59:46 +0000

Dawn of War will smite the world once again on March 1st, 2011 with the release of Dawn of War II: Retribution. And in preparation of all it’s heavy armor and righteous fury comes even more Warhammer 40,000 goodness to indulge. To promote the Dawn of War II: Retribution release Steam is selling the Dawn... [Continue Reading]

Starcraft: Liberty’s Crusade

Brad West — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 22:13:16 +0000

Sure Starcraft II is the latest and hottest of the smash hit sci-fi series at the moment, but with a whopping 13 years since the release of it’s predecessor, many players may have gotten a bit rusty when it comes to Starcraft lore. If you’re like me it’s been several years since you’ve seen your... [Continue Reading]

SAR: Cataclysmic Thoughts for Cataclysmic People

Syeric — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 21:39:00 +0000

Wow. Look at this. He’s back. Poor old Syeric takes off for two months, no word, no foul, and here he is again just when we thought he was dead. Well, the good news is that I’m not dead. Only mostly. I’m coming out of a neck-deep WoW binge, Rift binge, LotRO-not-so-much binge, and to-a-lesser-extent-Black-Ops... [Continue Reading]

A Hiatus Broken: A Gaming PC Broken

Xavier Morgan — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 02:22:52 +0000

After a brutally fun grind of 12 days, 4 hours, 16 minutes, and 7 seconds at my keyboard, I achieved the privilege of becoming an 85 Demonology Warlock on the Hakkar server: Ohcheese arrived! ... If you are considering a switch or just have flames to push in my direction, I would love to hear about your personal computing experience.

WoW: WSAD #6

Sarc — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 23:05:42 +0000

This podcast is your gateway drug to the ultimate gaming high: WoW. Listen in and join Raim, Sarc and Alvis on their aural quest for the latest interesting WoWtips to improve your metagame (think auction house and addons) and banter about all things Azeroth. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll learn some surprising things each episode, and... [Continue Reading]

In honor of the entertainment pioneers.

Sebastiaan — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:44:49 +0000

Creativity. It is the foundation of evolution of the entertainment business. Too bad some people forget that. Ever heard of the phrase: “Never change a winning formula!”? Nowadays, it is law for 90% of the entertainment business. Activision seems to be founded on this principle; 6 releases of Call of Duty and even Lucas Arts... [Continue Reading]

The more the merrier?

Raim — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 02:57:04 +0000

The more the merrier? Sometimes…but not always. More friends at a party? Great. More men in a hot tub? Not so great. It just depends on the situation. With the merging of 10 and 25 man raid locks many guilds in WoW are asking themselves the same question. Is more merrier? My guild is one example of a group of players stuck between 10 and 25.

New England Starcraft 2 League

Brad West — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 03:13:16 +0000

That’s right! For those of you lucky enough to live in the New England area, get ready for the New England Starcraft 2 League – Season 1/Tier 1. Even though the 9 months of cold weather per year keeps me bummed out I am proud to live in New England thanks to Drogith with the... [Continue Reading]

State of the Raid

Raim — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:14:09 +0000

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that the game had changed this expansion. That healers didn’t have unlimited mana anymore and that tanks, DPS, and healers alike would all need to start towing the line, using damage mitigation cooldowns as a matter of course, and generally be even more vigilant about not standing in hurty things on the ground. I was right. I also went on to intimate, perhaps rather blatantly that I thought that 10 man raiding was overtuned. I was a little off there.

WoWWatch: It’s not Indiana Jones and unfortunately its not Lara Croft either.

Raim — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 01:25:22 +0000

The holidays are a time of reflection, giving thanks, and spending more time with our families than we really would like to. They also are a time when most of us have a bit more free time than the norm. Some people cook, others clean, some drink (probably the best hobby). Not me. This holiday season, with a little extra free time, I decided to try to level archaeology. Ugh.

Rift: Beta #3 Event

Brad West — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 01:17:48 +0000

The third beta event for the highly anticipated upcoming MMORPG, Rift started at 10:00AM PST today and will end Friday, December 31st @ 10:00AM PST. For those of you that participated in one of the previous beta events or obtained a VIP key from the likes of FilePlanet or Curse.com you should certainly check your... [Continue Reading]

WoWWatch:Cataclysm, coke binges, and healer mana

Raim — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 12:08:36 +0000

It has been one week since Cataclysm went live. I initially thought I would be behind in other work (which I am) and unable to develop a clear message for this column. I had resigned this column to being one of those “smattering of impressions” columns that I have always felt are cheating. However after playing the game for a week, hitting 85, jumping into heroics, and healing a raid, I have one definitive impression that stands out way above the rest – WoW is harder again.

SAR: 5 Tips to Get the Most Out of Cataclysm

Syeric — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 05:11:11 +0000

That time has come again, boys and girls, and another World of Warcraft expansion is upon us. The lands of Azeroth have been torn asunder and a very upset black dragon is flying the skies, hungry for a special blend of gobbo-huma-orc cheese spread. What? Dragons can like cheese spread. This expansion is different than... [Continue Reading]

WoWWatch: Coo-coo for Cataclysm

Raim — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 03:47:35 +0000

We have all done weird stuff; things that from an outsider’s opinion would look a little off. That argument you had in your head at the supermarket that slipped out and became a little audible, or that time you had a little too much to drink. People are strange – and on top of it we do things that may, at the time, seem rational to us but look like utter insanity to everyone around us. All you have to do is go to a Justin Bieber concert or a midnight showing of a new Twilight opening to see this in others. Video game players generally exist pretty close to that uncomfortably weird line, and when something big happens in our games – well…sometimes we are those girls lining up at a Bieber show.

SAR: You Got Your [BLANK] In My Rift!

Syeric — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 05:41:16 +0000

The Rift beta is upon us, ladies and gentleman, and if you haven’t gotten a key yet, I’d start scouring now. As we’ve moved ever close to its impending, yet undated, release, I’ve found myself curiously drawn. I say curiously because six months ago, Rift was so under the radar I couldn’t have cared less.... [Continue Reading]

WoWWatch: PvP as a new PvE?

Raim — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 03:16:50 +0000

I don’t really PvP. Ever. In fact, generally when people start talking about PvP my eyes glaze over. I am the ultimate care bear. I have a rainbow tattooed on my stomach and in times of great peril I can expel a beam of energy out of it to stun my foes. Really. I can. Okay maybe not. The point I am trying to make is that I have never been interested in PvP in WoW. Until just recently. The introduction of ranked battlegrounds in WoW has piqued my interest to the point that I might, just might, figuratively dip my PvE pinky toe in the PvP water. What has ensorcelled me so? I think it’s that the new PvP is really a lot like PvE.

Guild Wars 2, another marketing scheme?

Sebastiaan — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 00:04:30 +0000

Dear Readers, Hope is upon us. There have been sightings of pioneers that are willing to throw everything into the garbage bin and restart with a clean slate. They say that their creation will place you, the gamer, in the spotlight instead of the game. I, myself, am having trouble grasping the possibility of anything... [Continue Reading]

The Dungeons and Dragons comic book

Brad West — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 21:37:04 +0000

Fantasy comics sure are easy to come by these days. Over the last few years comic books and graphic novels have flooded the market from all angles. And with this surge we’ve watched plenty of comic book characters translated into big screen super heroes as well as humble anti-heroes in a few television mini-series. Everyone... [Continue Reading]

SAR: Things To Be Thankful for in the MMO World

Syeric — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 16:22:37 +0000

Sometimes we get focused on the negative. We’re probably the worst of all gamer-types, if truth be told. We don’t just play MMOs, we make them a part of our lives; they become a hobby, and yes, in some cases, a kind of lifestyle. We develop connections to them, build relationships – and that makes... [Continue Reading]

WoWWatch: Goodbye, my friend, goodbye.

Raim — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 04:15:38 +0000

A curious thing happened this weekend. As I raced around Azeroth with my fellow players, trying to fill out those last few quests, achievements, or reputations, I felt a pang of regret. There was so much from the original game that would soon be gone that I knew I would not have a chance to finish. Today, actually while I write this column, Azeroth is being digitally torn apart. The Cataclysm patch is being activated and while we are at work or school (or writing articles), Deathwing is going to blast out of the earth and tear down good ol’ Azeroth. It’s exciting for sure – but it’s a bit bittersweet as well.

SAR: Consoles vs. MMOs – Who’s Influencing Who?

Syeric — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 13:46:55 +0000

Raph Koster has an interesting conversation taking place on his blog. The crux of it is this: are MMOs influencing consoles or consoles influencing MMOs. It’s hard to argue that there’s not some sharing of ideas taking place. What, for example, was All Points Bulletin (other than a flaming wreck)? If you asked the developers,... [Continue Reading]

WoWWatch: Building an expansion

Raim — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 23:44:56 +0000

Here is a quick thought exercise. Take the original Star Wars – not the original trilogy just the very first film – and compare it to (what was once called episode II but is now referred to as episode V) the Empire Strikes back. Not bad right? TESB (I have no idea if anyone else uses that acronym) is a pretty good sequel to the first movie. It expands the characters, drives the story, and keeps the audience enthralled. Now let’s try something a little different. Let’s compare the first trilogy – the ones from the 70’s – with the new Star Wars movies. Ugh. The (pre)sequels don’t quite hold up do they? This just goes to show that there a good ways (The Empire Strikes Back) and bad ways (any of the new Star Wars offerings generously referred to as movies) to make a sequel. Similarly there are good ways and bad ways to build an expansion for a game.

SAR: TOR – The Next Warhammer Online?

Syeric — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:37:37 +0000

Developer Dispatch: Everything you know about MMOs is wrong. Developer Diary: This is our idea; yes it’s as cool as you think it is. Class Profile: See this? That’s the definition of epic. Your dreams, this class. System Profile: We don’t like how MMOs do things. This is real character growth. This is all about... [Continue Reading]