My initial thoughts on WoW Legion!

    So it's been a while since I have posted here! But today I bring news of my first gameplay impressions of Legion! Here in the UK the game has been out just over 24 hours! As soon as it released I was off to the Broken Isles!

The Tirisguard shall rise again!

Once the quest to teleport Dalaran to the Broken Shore has ended, I met up with Meryl Felstorm (my character is a mage) and he takes you on a quest to obtain one of three artifact weapons! I chose to pursue Ebonchill, Greatstaff of Alodi, and after a brief bug where the quest wouldn't complete I had obtained my new weapon!

                                   
                                          Ebonchill, Great Staff of Alodi

   The quest to obtain Ebonchill itself was pretty interesting. the quests were heavily centered around mage lore, involving characters and locations with strong links to the Mage class one way or another! This whole experience didn't take long (despite having to restart the final quest) around 20-30 minutes, and it also sets the stage for the Class Order hall!

   Once the Order hall has been unlocked you are sent on a few order hall specific missions. As a mage the quest revolved around portal-ing other mages into the Hall of the Guardians, via a Goblin mage named The Great Akazamzarak who has a knack for portals (for a price of course). After those quests are done, we head down to the Scouting Map to choose our destination, and after a little thought (not much tbh, being Forsaken it was an obvious choice ;) ) we headed off to Stormheim!

Overall the introduction to Legion seemed well paced, obtaining the artifact weapon and introducing the class order hall all well within the first hour, and with an artifact per spec, and order hall per class I can see plenty of re-play-ability!

Come Helheim or Highmountain

   

   So far on my journey I have only adventured into three of the zones, two of which very briefly. from what I have seen though I am impressed! The zones themselves are looking wonderful! and to add to that the music so far has been fantastic! The first thing I noted about Stormheim was how the music sounded very similar to that of Howling Fjord, which is a good thing! Both being Vrykul themed zones, is what makes this choice of music fantastic! It invoked memories of Wrath of the Lich King and I must say I enjoyed questing across Stormheim! If I was to chose a standout moment it would be our brief encounter with the underworld (Helheim - see the title is more than just a cheap pun), I won't put any spoilers here, but make sure to grab the pet from the Jellyfish rare whilst your there!

    A brief encounter with Highmountain so far, has been thoroughly enjoyable! again the music was spot on what I thought it would be with that hint of Native-American music often associated with Tauren, after all Highmountain is the home of several Tauren clans! I can't say much about the entire zone, but from doing the first few quests I can see it coming along nicely!

Is it Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?

   Many of you may be aware that the title for this section is also the title of a popular Anime, however unlike the title may lead you to believe I haven't tried to pick up any girls in a dungeon. So far I have only managed to do one dungeon, and that is not through a lack of trying! I have spent around about 8 hours sitting in dungeon queue's waiting for a group, yet nothing. Quite frankly I find it a little bit annoying that I am missing out on this experience whilst levelling, because I personally enjoy levelling through a dungeon! 

     Wait times aside, the dungeon I managed to get into and play was the Halls of Valor, and my oh my what a dungeon it was! Many of us were running it for the first time, and i must say the aesthetic of it is fantastic! It had a very Asgardian feel to it, especially with the light bridge, which served it well! Along with this there were other references to Thor, but I'll let you figure those out for yourself ;) There are 5 bosses in total, with enough variance to stop it feeling tired and re-hashed, the mechanics on some of the bosses keep you on your toes, whilst others (Fenryr I'm looking at you) felt a bit boring. If the other dungeons are as enjoyable as my first Legion dungeon then I'd be a very happy Mage!

Start Up, Cash In, Sell Out, Bro Down

    The final thing I want to talk about is the new profession system, many players may have skipped this step whilst trying to race to level 110, but I like to level my professions as I go. Asides from keeping the Warlords of Draenor system of being able to do it all from profession level 1, Legion improves professions greatly! The introduction of profession quests that grant profession reward and skill ups is a fantastic idea, making that grind to 800 that slight bit more bearable! Admittedly this mostly for secondary professions but it is wildly helpful! The primary profession quests take you across the Broken Isles in order to learn more of your chosen skill be it a gathering or crafting profession and this in itself is great. For example whilst gathering herbs I obtained a quest item for Aethril that upon completion gave me level 1 (out of 3) for gathering Aethril which means I am now more effective at it! These little tweaks have made gathering herbs that bit more enjoyable! 

FINAL VERDICT: 8.7/10

Top 10 Xbox 360 Games!



 

For this post I thought I'd keep it simple, so here it is, my personal top 10 Xbox 360 games as of May 2015. To summarise this list isn't in a particular order although I will explain why every game has earned its spot on the list. I will attempt to leave out any spoilers, but be warned if a game is on the list for a particular reason that may contain spoilers it will be pre-ceeded by SPOILER ALERT! consider yourself pre-warned readers!

There are a few honourable mentions that narrowly missed getting onto this list. Arkham City whilst being a great game, and by far my favourite of all the Arkham games, with it's great cast of villains, I will say one thing though I miss from Arkham Asylum was the Scarecrow fear toxin dream sequences, although by the looks of it Arkham Knight will be bringing him back so good news all round! Anyways onto the Top 10!

10. Fable 2



    

    Firstly we come to Fable 2, I have always been a fan of RPGs and as far as RPGs go the Fable series is one of my favourite. With the release of Fable 3 and the re-release of Fable on Xbox 360, there is no shortage of Fable on the 360. Choosing between these games wasn't easy, but I finally settled on Fable 2 due to my feeling that the story was a strong continuation of the over-arching storyline, the introduction of the character of Reaver (played by Stephen Fry.) Stephen Fry's character of Reaver makes the game much more interesting, this combined with a very strong storyline and the usual good/evil choices that shape your characters aesthetics.

9. Grand Theft Auto V

     Grand Theft Auto V is the latest game in the GTA series and sees us return to the city of Los Santos and the surrounding region of Blaine County. As a departure from the usual storytelling, GTAV introduces us to 3 playable protagonists, each with their own distinct characteristics. This diversity makes GTA V the strongest game in the series for me. However it did have it's hiccups, with Grand Theft Auto Online when the game shipped, these have mostly been resolved, with the recent introduction of online heists. The strong story along with an enjoyable online experience earns GTA V a spot on this list.

8. Portal 2

   Portal 2 is the second game in the series and by far my favourite of the portal games, due to some memorable quotes and some great voice acting and characters. The character of Wheatley (voiced by Stephen Merchant) adds a great dose of comedy, as well as being one of the main characters in the story. The co-op mode introduced into Portal 2 adds a greater level of complication to each test room, as well as prime opportunities for comedy as you drop your co-op partner into the water, or open up a portal beneath them!



7. Brütal Legend

   Brütal Legend makes this list for the great gameplay combined with the voice acting skills of some of rock's greatest musicians. The game was one of the most enjoyable games I have ever played, combining RTS (Real-Time Strategy) elements with the more action packed combat system. With the campaign your limited to playing as Eddie Riggs (voiced by Jack Black) and the Ironheade faction. Playing the game after you have completed the campaign, allows you to play as the Drowning Doom or Taited Coil factions. Each faction feels unique and individual when playing them online, which allows for a greater choice when playing online multiplayer.



6. Left 4 Dead 2

    Left 4 Dead 2 is a game set in a post apocalyptic world overrun with zombies of varying mutations. It is these 'special infected' that set the Left 4 Dead series apart from other zombie games for me. They can turn a horde of ordinary infected into a challenge by incapacitating your team mates and therefore leaving you with one less gun to protect yourselves. It also introduced my favourite Left 4 Dead story campaign, Dark Carnival, set in an old theme park/carnival (KIDDIELAND!) I mean who doesn't love zombie clowns!  

5. Gears of War 3

   
     Gears of War 3 is the third instalment in the Gears of War franchise, and in my opinion the strongest. It was a difficult decision to choose between this and Gears of War 2 for which would take the franchise's spot on this list, but in terms of overall gameplay and features Gears of War 3 just about takes the biscuit! The improvements made to Horde mode and the inclusion of Beast mode meant that I enjoyed playing those with friends more than the previous Horde modes from Gears of War 1 and 2. The actual storyline and the additional DLC  for the game were great additions to the franchise, and did a good job of wrapping up Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad's storyline. In addition to the games there has been a series of books and comics which I would recommend to any Gears fan, as they do provide more of a backdrop to the Gearverse and it's characters, who are often depicted as emotionless meatheads (which is far from the truth!)  


4. Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag

    Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is set in the Caribbean at a time when pirates terrorised the seven seas. In the game we play as Pirate Assassin Edward Kenway (Grandfather of Connor from AC3), As Edward we get to take the helm of a fully manned Pirate ship (The Jackdaw) as we explore the Caribbean at the height of piracy. The improved ship mechanics from Assassin's Creeed 3 make manoeuvring your ship in combat much easier than in its predecessor. Along with the improved ship mechanics, there is a strong storyline and a fun combat system. As with previous games there is enough side missions to keep you distracted from the main story for as long as you wish! and of course you also get to do a little bit of Pirateering whilst your at it.

3. Mass Effect 2

     Mass Effect 2 is the middle segment of the Mass Effect trilogy, and also it's strongest instalment. The game picks up where Mass Effect left off and develops the arching storyline of the trilogy. That is not to say that you need to import a character from Mass Effect to play the game, as you can also create a new character, although I feel you get a richer experience if you import your character from the first Mass Effect into the game. Along with some returning characters, you take on board a selection of new characters that all have their own charms, and I found myself mixing up my squad for missions more than I did in the original. The reason this takes top spot for me is the continuation of the story and the spectacular finale mission, I won't give anything away here, but it is one of the most dramatic and enjoyable endings to a game I've ever played.

2. Fallout 3

Fallout 3 was by far my favourite of the Fallout games to be released on Xbox 360. As exciting as the setting for Fallout: New Vegas was, I enjoyed the campaign and dlc of Fallout 3 far more, I mean come on visiting an actual alien spacecraft in Mothership Zeta! what can be more fun than that! I'll admit the Old World Blues dlc from Fallout: New Vegas was an enjoyable bit of dlc that not only helped tie the story of the game as a whole together but also injected some very memorable humour from the Think-Tank and characters such as the Toaster from the Sink. Fallout 3 makes it to second place on this list for being one of the first games I was able to 100% in terms of Achievements, as well as it being so damn hard to put the controller down no matter what time in the morning it was! With the vintage soundtrack that comes as standard with all Fallout games, it really helps to immerse you into the post-apocalyptic world, a world in which your actions and choices can have quite the impact!

1. Bioshock



    Bioshock is the one game on this list that if you haven't played any of them, I would advise you to play, no seriously, like right now! Drop whatever it is your doing and go out there and buy it! Anyway, being an Microsoft exclusive (That is being only available on Xbox 360  and Windows) when it first released meant that many a gamer missed out on what has to be one of the best experiences I have ever had playing a video game. *Mild Spoiler Warning, highlight if you wish to read* The game starts after a brief cut-scene which sees you stranded in the ocean, with the only sign of life being a derelict lighthouse. You then proceed to enter the lighthouse and instead of ascending towards the top descend downwards, which in itself is a bit odd, but just roll with it. At the bottom of the steps you arrive at the door of a submarine, and after descending down more than 18 fathoms (18 is the last check we're shown) a video starts playing. Upon Andrew Ryan stating the name of the city (Rapture) the city itself is revealed for the first time, this entrance is the perfect way to introduce the city of Rapture in all of it's glory! *End of Spoiler* The game-play itself is that of a traditional fps, but with the added use of Plasmids, essentially super-powers that allow you to shoot fire/lightning from your hand to name a couple of examples. This mixed along with the art-deco stylings of the city and that superb opening 10 minutes of game-play are what set this up to be my number one game of the generation! Sure there was two sequels to Bioshock but nothing quite beats the feeling of seeing and setting foot in Rapture for the first time.

Blog update and The Rise of The Shadow Dragon!

It's been a little too long since I last posted any updates here, but after what must have been a good couple of years I am back! I intend to keep this blog updated with news, reviews and other articles based around gaming in general. Along with this I will also post the odd article surrounding some of my other interests, on subjects such as the latest films and television shows that may have caught my eye as well as anything else that interests me. However this will not detract from the main reason we are all here! Video Games! On the subject of video games I have a few ideas for articles lined up as well as reviews for a couple of games that have been on my radar recently. The first article should be up within the few days, since I'm going to keep it simple and give you my Top 10 Xbox 360 games! Why Xbox 360 I hear you cry? well it's simple really, it's the console I play the most, and have had some very fond memories of over the years! My current aim is to try and release one or two articles a week, this will depend heavily on other commitments, but even if it's a simple top 5 or top 10 list I will aim to post it!

With my return you may have noticed the name change of the blog, this is for several reasons. Firstly the old name for the blog (Vampiric Gamer) seemed a little out dated to me. Sure I still stay up late into the night to play video games, but at the same time I feel that it doesn't fully reflect the direction I wanted to take this blog. This leads us to the new title for the blog Shadow Dragon Gaming! This name reflects what I am looking to make this blog about, and that is the art of gaming as a whole, so to clarify not just gameplay reviews, but issues surrounding gaming, and the video game culture as a whole. I see the name change as a phoenix rising from the ashes, a new name for a new start! Anyway this was just a quick update, looking forward to spending some more time on here, and keeping you all updated!

IMPORTANT UPDATE!

Sorry for the delay guys, University work and life got in the way! :( The Top 10 Xbox 360 games will be posted up sometime within the next week, along with another article or two. Now that university is over for me, I will be able to dedicate a bit more time to this blog and hopefully publish one or two articles a week :) Thanks for the continued patience and support!

Picture Credit goes to MatticusIV of Deviant Art: http://matticusiv.deviantart.com/art/Gamer-Wallpaper-380222058

Uprising - A New Fan Favorite?

Firstly I would like to apologize for my absence of late, but to make up for it here's a brand new article with the promise of more to come! As many of you are most likely aware, the second piece of DLC for Black Ops 2 was released last Tuesday (16th April 2013). With its release came four new multiplayer maps, and the most ambitious Zombie map yet, Mob of The Dead. Since downloading the map pack on Tuesday, I have had a fair chance to play each new map as well as Mob of The Dead several times already and have really enjoyed the change of scenery.

The first map we'll be talking about today is Magma. The main thing with you get with this map is the boundaries of the map move with the lava, this means that whilst playing this map you should always be wary of where the lava is and how close to it you are before getting into a fire fight. In terms map layout, there are several buildings you can shelter in, and several routes you can take across the map. I have found the derailed train to be the favorite route of many a team mate/enemy. In terms of playing Domination on it flags A and C have a fairly simple layout with little cover, B however is slap bang in the middle down from whats left of a road. My advice for capping B would be bring along some trophies, since people tend to spam grenades at B if their team is slower than yours at getting there. Overall I'd say Magma is a fun map to play, with players needing to be as wary of their environment as they are the enemy.

Our next map is Vertigo. This takes place at the top of a skyscraper, and if your not careful with your footing there is often the danger that you'll fall off the top. On this map a lot of the action seems to take place in the center of the map, in the circular room which houses Flag B on Domination. With several of the entrances to the room being through automatic doors, Bouncing Bettie's hidden round corners are often a nice surprise for your unsuspecting victims rushing through the doors. For this map I'd say work your way around the outside, mixing up your route so as to keep the enemy guessing and hopefully catch them by surprise. As with Magma, this map is one where players need to be wary of how close they are to the edge, or kiss goodbye to that scorestreak.

Encore takes place in the aftermath of a music concert and as such the centerpiece for this map is the stage. It is possible to get onto the stage itself on this map, or if you would rather, head through the tight corridor underneath or around the edges of the map. A lot of the fighting on this map takes place around the stage, whether that's on the stage itself or people shooting from the little hut opposite the stage, checking all angles is important. in terms of Domination, Flag B is located next to the forklift in front of the stage that provides a slim amount of cover, however taking smoke grenades with cold blooded will help you remain unseen from those trying to shoot at you from range. This map is one of the bigger maps included in the DLC and challenges players in both close quarter combat and ranged combat.

 Our final multiplayer map is Studio. Many of you will recognize this map as the fan favorite from Black Ops  Firing Range. However since then it has received a gorgeous looking face lift. Instead of it being a firing range, it has now become a massive movie set, with several different film references including Pirates of the Caribbean, Godzilla and Jurassic Park. These references are purely aesthetic similarities, with skeleton pirates, a miniature city and a dinosaur peeking his head over a fence. This is by far my favorite map from Uprising purely on the aesthetics alone, in terms of game play, people will generally gravitate towards the center of the map and the Castle. Players who have experienced the original Firing Range map from Black Ops will find themselves on familiar ground no matter what game type they're playing on. Overall Studio takes my vote for best Map of the DLC and is defiantly up there with Hijacked and Mirage as some of my favorite maps on Black Ops 2.

The new Zombies map, Mob of The Dead, is a real step forward in terms of the evolution of zombies. The same premise of surviving round after round is still there, however Mob of The Dead adds several new gameplay features including Afterlife. When you fire up Mob of The Dead, you'll start in this new Afterlife mode, this allows you to reach areas inaccessible to you whilst playing one of the four mobster characters, as well as help you to move through to new parts of the map such as the Warden's Office, where you're required to be in afterlife mode to open the office gate. It is also necessary to be in Afterlife to turn on all the perk machines dotted around the map. In terms of the big 75g (for Xbox) achievement, it is easier than High Maintenance and Tower of Babble, and can be done solo. In my next article I'll explain how to do this as well as talk about some of the other achievements. Overall I'd say Mob of The Dead is the best Black Ops 2 zombies map so far, and adds some interesting plot points to the overall zombies story arc, for those who seek it out. 

Avast me hearties, yo ho!

As many of you may have heard, Ubisoft have recently confirmed the next game in the Assassin's Creed series: Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. There are a couple of things to note about the release, just a small warning guys, there will be references to Assassin's Creed 3 and the novel Assassin's Creed: Forsaken further down, however I will do my best to keep the spoilers to a minimum, so reader discretion is advised. But before that I have included the announcement trailer below for those of you that may not have seen it yet. As far as announcement trailers go, the Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is a rather interesting specimen, so before I continue, here is the trailer in all it's glory!

As the trailer shows the next Assassin's Creed game will take place before Assassin's Creed 3 featuring the Assassin, Edward Kenway. If that name sounds familiar to you, this is because he is the Grandfather of Assassin's Creed 3's Connor Kenway (or Ratonhnhaké:ton to give him his Native Indian name) which of course make him the father of Haytham Kenway who many of you may know turned out to become a Knights Templar under the instruction of Reginald Birch (who was a close family friend of Edward Kenway's although would eventually prove his undoing). This makes Black Flag an interesting addition to the Assassin's Creed series, in that it explains the background of the mysterious Edward Kenway, who even in the novel Assassin's Creed: Forsaken his life before moving to Queen Anne's Square in London. In addition to finding more about the mysterious Edward Kenway, who it appears is a hugely successful pirate, is the supporting cast and locations. Being a pirate means a lot of it takes place upon the high seas, around the ports of the Caribbean, one of the most notable being Port Royal. As the trailer shows the notorious pirate Blackbeard will be making an appearance, which to me makes it even more interesting, on top of this the pre-order copies will include a poster designed by non other than Spawn creator Todd McFarlane. 

Edward Kenway, and in the background his Assassin's Pirate ship.

In terms of gameplay, I suspect the naval combat will return, and if the trailer is anything to go by, underwater exploration will be involved either as part of the main story or for side quests. I expect between now and release, plenty more information will be given about the game. My guess would be that we'll get some gameplay shown at E3 in June, until then expect plenty more screenshots and teasers from Ubisoft. I'll do my best to keep you all updated, and apologize for the lack of activity lately, if your looking forward to Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag please feel free to leave a comment below!

And Now for Something Completely Different

Okay so the title may be slightly misleading as this post is still about Video Games, however it has less Black Ops 2 influence in it, which I feel has taken over the blog a little bit lately. Some of you may have noticed the title of this post is in fact a segment from the popular British Comedy 'Monty Python's Flying Circus,'  which coincidentally is also the name of one of the Monty Python films (which probably wasn't that much of a coincidence but oh well.) As some of you may have already guessed the true purpose of this blog post is to talk about MMO's or more specifically MMORPG's and even more specifically World of Warcraft. A few of you may be wondering what I mean by the terms MMO and MMORPG, simply put they mean Massively Multiplayer Online Game and Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game respectively.

Arguably the most popular in the past Ten years or at least the most well known of these MMORPG's is Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft. As many of you may know, World of Warcraft, takes place after the events of the previous Warcraft games, which were in RTS form. This has lead to some rich source material being fed into the game, with a rich and interesting Lore that expands with each of the new expansions, the latest of which is Mists of Pandaria. My love of the Warcraft universe started many years ago, about the same time I developed an interest in Warhammer. At the time I was in my early teens, and had recently acquired my first proper computer. The few games I had at the time were what I consider some classic PC RTS's. My first few games included the likes of Age of Empires: Gold Edition, Pharaoh and Caesar 3, so when I received a copy of Warcraft: Orcs and Humans (which as you can see took a very different approach from the previous historical RTS's) I was eager to play through this fantastical world. Just to clarify, by the time I was introduced to Warcraft, the series had already grown and was on it's third game in the series Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. After thoroughly enjoying the original Warcraft as well as the sequels that followed, when a close friend of mine acquired the game World of Warcraft in late 2005 and invited me and a friend to come over and play, we were instantly hooked. And by January of 2006 we had acquired the game for ourselves.

Not a picture of my actual character, but my first character was a Tauren!

A few of you may be wondering what this blog is actually about, well the truth is it is 'Mainly' about my experiences of playing World of Warcraft, however I would like to touch upon a few other MMO related topics, such as why hasn't the genre taken off on the Xbox for example. After obtaining my own copy, I began the long process of loading the game onto my computer, and once that was complete (and paying for some game time of course), I stepped out into the world of Azeroth as a noble Tauren Druid. After the introductory cut scene, the first thing I wanted to do was get stuck into the Druid's primary attribute of shape-shifting ... which I later found out I had to actually get to level 10 before I could turn into a bear, even then to turn into a bear you had to complete a quest ... damn, new players on World of Warcraft sure do have it easy nowadays! This was a trend across the classes in which upon hitting level 10 you would quest to get a specific spell, pet etc. Starting a new character now only has you do one class related quest to test out a new spell at level 3/4 on the practice dummies, but I do recall the old class quests as being enjoyable. In particular playing as a Troll Shaman and doing the quest for each element, each one being different from the previous (I haven't played Shaman in a long time, but I think they removed these quests, correct me if I'm wrong). The subsequent expansions The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King were rather enjoyable for me, with raids such as Karazhan and Argent Tournament adding exciting new encounters (Karazhan more so than any other raid) and quests such as the Battle for Undercity (later removed in Cataclysm) adding to an enjoyable experience. The next expansion was Cataclysm, which shook up the existing zones of Azeroth and added new ones, was to me a bit hit and miss. The re-working of zones worked great in some of the zones yet others were still off putting for me, I found little change in Northern Barrens and as such found myself questing over in Silverpine Forest and  Hillsbrad Foothills (the latter of which I used to avoid except for when I went to purchase my Frostwolf Howler) which since Cataclysm have become enjoyable places to level. Of course over time Blizzard have introduced new races and classes to keep things fresh, even offering old classes to old races (e.g Dwarf Shaman and Tauren Paladins two race, class combinations unimaginable before Burning Crusade). 

Undead or Forsaken are former Humans now fighting for the Horde

To me the appeal of World of Warcraft is the rich universe in which it is set, as well as the selection of races and classes from which to choose from all add up to an enjoyable experience. In terms of content you have the choice to PvE (player vs environment) or PvP (player vs player). PvE includes questing, dungeouns, raids and more recently scenarios where as PvP has the option to fight in either Battlegrounds (10 vs 10, 15 vs 15 etc) and Arenas (2 vs 2, 3 vs 3, 5 vs 5). Personally my preference is to play PvE, although I'm no hardcore raider and have been known to dabble in PvP. I won't get into too much detail here but what I will say for anyone who's thinking of starting out on WoW, my advice would be to try out a few battlegrounds and dungeouns whilst leveling to see how much you enjoy each.

Aware that this blog is become a slight bit on the long side, I am going to throw a few things out there that I will go into more depth on in a later post. The first thing is something that I guess you can also apply to DLC for games such as Black Ops 2, Skyrim etc etc, is whether paying a subscription fee for a game you have already bought is a good or bad thing. In terms of subscriptions I feel they are primarily a good thing, DLC however I feel it needs to be reasonably priced and worth it, more on that at a later date. Secondly the lack of MMO's on consoles, in particular the Xbox brings up questions on why is it not so successful when it's not on PC? A game which is looking to challenge that view is Defiance, which from what I have seen of it so far looks like a really interesting project. Finally is the continuation of an MMO universe, what I mean by this is, expansions and new releases. Does there come a point where you need to say stop! and start anew or is stepping up the challenge with new expansions the answer? Once you have reached the maximum level, attained the best gear, killed the biggest, most bad-ass enemies you can find, starting from square one in terms of its the same game with a number after the title can seem a bit like we've reached the end, and for an MMO I feel we need to see the world expand and change as we level up. Anyway those are questions for a later date, hope you enjoyed a fairly Warcraft based post, as always comments are welcome.  

Black Ops 2 - Die Rise: High Maintenance Update

Hey guys here's a quick update for you on the Black Ops 2 Zombies map Die Rise. The High Maintenance achievement has been discovered with both Richtofen and Maxis parts available on Youtube (links at the bottom of this page). Where as in Tranzit, Maxis' path was the easiest to follow to get the achievement, in Die Rise, Richtofen's part is easier, and that is the part I'll detail here (I will link to a video of both paths for you guys, so if you feel obliged to follow Maxis all the way through Black Ops 2, you'll have that option)

High Maintenance - Richtofen's Path

1. First off you will need to build up the Navcard machine on the roof with the two Dragons. The parts are the same as before (Meteor, Radio, Battery and Table) Once you have the parts it is built underneath the Ramp, that leads up to the tower.
2. The next step is for all four players to step on the Gold Emblems on top of the elevators at the same time.
3. Next all four players must step on the four gold emblems that are located around the map (see video) This needs to be done in a certain sequence, trial and error will get the right sequence, although Richtofen can sometime utter the order in German to Stuhlbender. 
4. For the next step you'll need to obtain a Sniper Rifle (the SVU can be bought off the wall if not just spin on the mystery box) and shoot the Black Orbs out of the Dragons Mouths.
5. After the Black Orbs, have relocated to the spawn room (where you started the game) use the Sliquifier to shoot each one until they start spinning (the Sliquifier is made up of 4 parts that are located on the same floor as the power and the floor below which has the table)
6. Next you'll need to have built up the Trample Steam (the machine that can fling you and zombies across the map) all the parts are located on the same floor as you spawn in, the elevator to the right as you leave the spawn room will take you down the one floor to the table. All Four players will need one, and place them on the Four Emblems that look like Zombies facing the tower, each member should stay next to their trample steam and lure Zombies onto it (this makes the Sacrifice Richtofen requires)
7. Once Richtofen is happy that enough zombies have been flung, one player will need to acquire the Galvaknuckles (6000pts) and use it to hit the Four legs of the Tower in Sequence. The sequence you'll require is to do with the Mahjong Tiles (the video at the bottom will explain how this works). Once the tower lights up the achievement should pop. 

Richtofen Path - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRcAhPqGFBY

Maxis Path - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HikPjzx0bew

Mahjong Tiles - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-TvMiT3qDA

Black Ops 2: Zombies Easter Eggs (including what I know for Die Rise)

Hey guys, a lot of you may be familiar with the Zombies mode that was introduced to Treyarch's Call of Duty games back in World at War. This article will explain how to obtain the Tower of Babble achievement/trophy as well as discuss the High Maintenance achievement to an extent, but I am working on it and will update the article as soon as I'm able to test some of the theories I am yet to try out.

Green Run Tranzit

Tower of Babble: To get the achievement and Easter Egg in Tranzit you will need 4 players and to follow these simple steps, Please ensure all players have built the Navcard Reader, this is explained in this video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiuN7NveWyg -(this is the Maxis version of the Easter Egg which is deemed easier, however I will include a link to the Richtofen version for those who may prefer to do that or both):

1. When you spawn in the Bus Depot, build the Turbine at the work desk - The parts required are Fan -Near the electric doors on a chair, Mannequin - Leaning on the Bus route map in the center of the room and Tail (similar to the tail on a boats motor) - Near the M14 next to the bookcase on the ground.
2. Once you've built the Turbine exit the building and catch the bus to the diner, Enter the gas station and spin on the mystery box, what we're looking for here is the EMP Grenades. Note that these may not drop at the diner spawn so you may have to follow the box around the map till one player has them). 
3. The next step is to get off at the 4th stop which is the power plant, the door down costs 750pts (same as the diner doors) jump down and find the three parts necessary to build the Power Switch. These are the Grey Power Board (pretty big, hard to miss), Red Handle and Zombie Hand (can be tricky to see due to the lighting of the room, but is generally on the floor somewhere in the room). Once assembled, turn the power on, wait till the Avagadro is released (watch the big power generator in the circular room to see him rise) and then turn the power off again and leave the power plant. 
4. Next step is to get to the center of the corn fields, to do this have one person look out the window to the left until he sees a gap in the fields then order everyone off the bus, follow the maze through to the tower in the center, the players should then place Two Turbines down underneath the tower.
5. The next step is to keep one zombie alive at the end of a round and only when the Lightning is Above the tower, kill the zombie, this will spawn the Avagadro to the players location, make sure he is then Underneath the Tower before using your EMP Grenades to kill him.
6. Next pick up the 'Powered Up' Turbines and leave two players at the tower, take the two Turbines  to the Lamp posts at Bus Depot  and Diner, then All Four Players must place the Turbines simultaneously for the achievement to unlock. This is best done in the brief lapse between rounds, as well as it would be advised to keep the rounds low whilst attempting this Achievement.

Green Run Musical Easter Egg: This Easter Egg is fairly simple, all it requires is you to press the action button (X on Xbox 360) on Three Teddy Bears that spawn in the map. The First is located at the Bus Depot on the concrete bench next to some lava on the right hand side of the middle station, The second bear is Upstairs in the Farm House on a mattress (3rd stop) and finally the last bear is in the Bar in town (last stop), on the right as you come in, on the booth near the pool table.

Die Rise (Revolution Map Pack) Easter Eggs

High Maintenance: First things first, these steps are what I have found on Youtube/discovered myself, as well as theories on the next few steps, once I have found out how to complete this, I'll update the article to reflect that. The first Two steps can be done in whichever order suits you and your teams preferences.

1. Firstly you'll need to turn on the power. The easiest way to do this is to all jump in the elevator in the spawn room, once it falls down exit, and follow the corridor to the ledge and jump across to the other building. Then turn right through the door and there'll be double green doors on the left (750pts) which when you open the power switch will be directly in front of you.
2. Once the power is on, you will need to obtain a Sniper Rifle - any will do, although the SVU is available to buy off the wall - this will be required in a few steps time (Maxis will reiterate this point).
3. On top of Four of the Elevators, there will be a Circular Symbol which all 4 players must step on simultaneously to activate the next step.
4. Next there are Four of those symbols spread across the map, which must be activated in sequence - the sequence changes with every play through so trial and error will help here - these can be done one by one and don't need to all be done at the same time/immediately after each other.
5. Next you'll need to get to the roof with the Two Dragons, in the Dragon's Mouths will be Two Orbs, use the Sniper to shoot these out of their mouths.
6. The Orbs should then relocate to the Spawn room, and Maxis will talk about Reincarnation and Enlightenment.
7. To follow Maxis' part you will need to pick up the orbs (Richtofen prefers it if you use the Sliquifier to shoot the orbs)

This next Part contains only THEORIES, however once they have been tried and tested I will update the article.

• One of the theories going round at the moment is that you need to Obtain the 'Who's Who' perk and revive yourself in the room with the Buddhas - who's upside down due to the building collapsing. However I feel this is not the case, as it is instead the requirement of another Achievement, however I could be wrong.
• Next is that in the Buddha Room, you need to kill LOTS of Zombies until Maxis or possibly Richtofen tells you it's enough.
• My first theory is that once you've obtained the orbs, take them to the room with the Buddhas and perhaps give it to them somehow? this would make sense with Maxis' comments on Reincarnation and Enlightenment.
• Another theory I have is to do with the new 'dogs wave,' the Crawly/leaping zombies (very reminiscent of the Hunters from Left 4 Dead). When they spawned in a game me and my friend were playing, Maxis (believe it was him, was difficult to hear over the sounds of the zombies) said something about them and their souls? so maybe they're involved in this all some how?  
• Finally maybe there's something to do with the Tower next to the Dragons, Being called High Maintenance, Maybe the tower needs fixing to Repair the Rift (quote from the intro cinematic on single player) to do this maybe we need to build something possibly the Navcard table?

Those are just a few ideas if you have any of your own please feel free to comment, and I'll do my best to look into it.

Musical Easter Egg Die Rise: In Die Rise there are again Three Teddy Bears. The first is on a shelf near an escalator on the floor below the spawn room (near the SVU), Next one is on the ledge in the Buddha Room up the Red pillar to the right, the final teddy bear is in the Power Room on a table against the wall to the left as you walk in.

I hope you enjoyed this Easter Egg article, I am aware that I have not included the Three Musical Easter Eggs from Nuketown Zombies, this is due to me trying to keep articles shorter however if need be I will include it in an article of it's own later on. In terms of Tranzit, there is three more 'Easter Eggs' the first being the sign at the Diner, which spells out a grim warning to players, next is the inclusion of Nacht Der Untoten (shown in the video about the Navcard), and finally between the power plant and town, on the right of the road in the mist there is a lone Cabin in the Woods which contains the Bowie Knife (or so I'm told).  On a final note for those that want to do the Richtofen side of Tower of Babble here is the aforementioned link: http://callofduty.wikia.com/wiki/Tower_of_Babble

Violence in Video Games Update

Hey guys, apologies for my absence of late. Today I was reading a few articles on oxm.com when this particular article caught my eye: http://www.oxm.co.uk/49769/ea-boss-videogames-dont-cause-violence-but-we-have-to-solve-the-perception-issue/ In the article they reiterate the many common arguments about why video games don't cause violence, as well as touching upon why is the violence localized in the US? considering that video games are a world wide phenomenon, and some countries - such as Japan - consume more video games than the United States, yet there is far less violence there. Anyway guys just wanted to shine some light on this article, I'm hoping to be doing some more articles/reviews soon, as always guys if anyone has any ideas or comments feel free to leave them below.
This is Vampiric Gamer signing off.

Video Games: Do they promote violence?

This is a debate that has been going on for some time now, 'Do Video Games Promote Violence?' in this blog post I'll be laying down my thoughts and opinions on this subject, and as a prior warning, this blog may deal with content and subjects which may upset some readers, so reader discretion is advised . As with any debate there are always several arguments and opinions, so do feel free to leave your own in the comments, just be sure to keep it on topic and remember that everyone is entitled to their opinions so try to keep the comments friendly.

Back to the topic at hand, in the past violent films such as 'Natural Born Killers' and 'Taxi Driver,' have been accused of promoting and encouraging violence. I am aware that there have been cases of 'copy cat killings' taken from the films, but can we place the blame entirely on these films as the sole cause for those murders? As we delve into the 21st Century, Video Games have become the latest scapegoat for the causes of violent crimes. With the tragic events that took place in Connecticut, last December (2012), Video Games and violence has yet again been put in the spot light. The argument put forward was that by playing the games Call of Duty and Mass Effect, the gunman was inspired by the violence in these games to go out and commit such a horrible crime. The media had a field day on this fact and were saying without the existence of violent video games, none of this would ever have happened. This argument is ridiculous of course, since even before video games and movies, violent crimes were being committed. Take for example Jack the Ripper and the Whitechapel Murders.

 In 1888, six women were killed and mutilated within the Whitechapel district of East London (there have been theories that the actual number may be far greater, however the general consensus is that the mystery man Jack the Ripper was only accountable for these six). Back to the topic of Video Games causing violence, and how Jack the Ripper is related to my point, in 1888 they didn't have Video Games or Movies, they had newspapers and theater, yet there was still a man who could commit such horrific crimes and never get caught. The newspapers of the time would have been reporting on other acts of violence such as the latter end of the Zulu civil wars, and theaters would be putting on plays and musicals which incorporated violence, but are either of these mediums scrutinized today? The simple answer is no, because it seems ridiculous to blame a play at the theater for inspiring the Ripper murders. As for newspapers, and the daily flow of violent acts that are reported on nowadays, they never seem to be blamed because there is other media for them to scapegoat, surely the newspapers should take some of the blame if it's ok for video games and movies to be blamed for violence?

Reading an article by Kotaku (http://www.kotaku.com.au/2013/01/75-of-parents-think-violent-video-games-contribute-to-actual-violence/) earlier today, shows that possibly due to media spreading the fear that video games are the devil and by playing them your children are slowly being corrupted. However most of these violent video games are rated at 18, so for kids to get hold of them it would require their parents or older family members to purchase it for them. This is where parents would claim ignorance to not knowing how violent the game was but in the case of Call of Duty, the lobbies of which are usually always flooded with kids, it is the parents fault for them playing it. The box art usually depicts a man carrying a gun, on the back it describes the game as involving warfare, and finally the big ratings companies rate the game at 18, all pointing to the fact that this game deals with adult subjects. Therefore instead of blaming the game for promoting violence to children is it not the parents who should be held accountable for it? Even if the child got a hold of it some other way the likely hood is they'll be playing the game in their parents house, so it is up to the parents to prevent them from playing games they deem too violent. If you were to buy your child an adult movie from the local adult shop, you'd be classed as an irresponsible parent, and would be entirely to blame for that, as unlikely as that situation is, the point still stands, adult movies are rated 18 as are most violent games, parents should be held accountable to what they expose their children to rather than seek to place the blame on someone else.

In the spirit of trying to keep this post a reasonable length, there is just a few more points I would like to touch on. This first thing is related to the last paragraph on parent responsibility and ratings systems. In the United States of America, President Obama outlined a $10 million study into the violent media (which includes Video games). On top of this US congress has outlined  a violent video game legislation entitled the 'Video Games Ratings Enforcement Act.'  It is described fully here: http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/01/17/violent-games-legislation-introduced-to-us-congress, but is basically making the ESRB rating system part of the law similar to it being illegal for a shop in the UK to sell a game to someone under the age of the rating. We must also take into account the mental state of the person committing the crime, since a lot of the time these people are mentally unstable and don't think the same as the average citizen. Going back to the subject of Connecticut, the US gun laws and the ease of access he had to the weapons he used can be blamed, since without the tools of the crime, he may never have been able to commit the crime. On a final note, Kotaku  says that 'there is absolutely zero evidence, according to leading researchers in this field, that links violent video games to violent crime in any way.'

What This Blog Is About

Hey guys, after my initial post of a review for the newest addition to the Call of Duty franchise, which I feel I could have taken some more time over, I've decided to keep this post simple and explain a bit about this here blog. The way I see it, is a way to get my thoughts and opinions out of my mind and written down. I have long had string views and opinions on video games, films, music and the like. The blog comes into this as a way for me to compile all of these thoughts into one article. In this blog I will mainly concentrate my posts about the subject of gaming, including my thoughts on the latest 'big' gaming news, debates and of course reviews, along with some other gaming tidbits here and there. However now and then I may feel the need to comment on the latest films, music and other subjects that make an impression on me.

So why the name Vampiric Gamer? Well I suppose the answer is quite simple really. The obvious part is that I am in fact an active gamer of varying levels of commitment on the Xbox 360 and PC, more so the 360 side of things. As for the Vampiric part, just to clarify it's not because I drink blood, can turn into a bat or fear sunlight (which might I add DOES NOT make a Vampire sparkle) it's more to do with the fact that during the past few years I have become nocturnal, in the sense that ok yes I do go out during the day and all, but when the sunsets I am unable to sleep till the early hours of the morning, often 3.00 or 4.00 am. When it came to deciding a name for the blog, well nocturnal gamer didn't quite have the right ring to it, so I settled for Vampiric Gamer, since Vampires are nocturnal creatures, and I am a fan of the more tradition Vampires that have been around since before Twilight.

Some of you may be wondering why Black Ops 2? well the idea to do a review came about from discussing the game with friends, and looking at other reviews online in which many reviewers seemed to have missed the point that for the first time since Call of Duty 4, the series has seen a major overall. Many reviewers still seemed stuck on the Modern Warfare 3 game, which to me felt mediocre at best, the campaign didn't seem to have had much thought behind it, but I'll stop myself there for so that this post doesn't become a review.

On a final note, I am looking to start posting a bit more frequently, if I can find the necessary free time that is, if there is anything you would like me to talk about/comment on feel free to leave a comment with suggestions and general feedback. Hope this has helped you see what to expect from the future, any questions put them in the comments and if i get enough I'll do a Q&A blog post :)

Black Ops 2 - Game Review

Welcome to the very first post on my new games review blog. To get the ball rolling I thought I would start with a recent release and arguably one of the biggest releases of the year. As many of you will know Call of Duty Black Ops 2 has three modes; Mulitplayer, Campaign and Zombies, in this review I will take each mode into account  before coming to a conclusion. Firstly I'll start with the campaign, In general terms Black Ops 2's campaign is cut from the same cloth as previous Call of Duty titles in that it follows a linear pathway, taking you from battlefield to battlefield. However there is one major difference in comparison to previous titles, and that is there are 6 possible outcomes to the story. As you progress through the story the way in which you complete the missions as well as how you confront decisions given to you throughout the campaign will effect the way the game ends, and the closing cinematics will show this. In terms of a Call of Duty game, this is new ground, even though it has been done to an extent by other games such as Mass Effect 2 for example. Added to the usual array of single player missions are what I like to call the 'spec ops' missions. These are where you take control of squads to generally defend certain objectives from enemy forces. Although these aren't compulsory it is advised to complete them as they do contribute to the story in the end, as well as certain achievements. Compared to Modern Warfare 3, the campaign in Black Ops 2 felt more exciting for me, with new guns, equipment and gadgets, plus the excellent voice acting from Michael Rooker (Merle in AMC's The Walking Dead). In terms of difficulty, I have always considered the Veteran difficulty in Treyarch's Call of Duty games to be harder than that of Infinity Ward's. As with most games I would advise playing on a lower difficulty first to get a feel of the campaign before replaying on Hardcore or Veteran. One last note on the Campaign is the introduction of Challenges. There are 10 challenges to complete per level, ranging from kills with certain weapons to collecting all the intel, these are a nice bonus if your looking to compete with friends for mission scores or if your looking to get 1000 gamerscore from Black Ops 2.
Moving on to the Multiplayer, all the usual suspects have returned (Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Domination etc.) but Treyarch also brings back the party game modes (Gun Game, Sticks and Stones, One in the Barrel) as well as Kill Confirmed and introduces Hardpoint. With the death of kill streaks, Treyarch replaces them with a new system called Scorestreaks, to get these you can do pretty much anything from assisting and killing to capturing or defending objectives. However this does not stop some players from camping on all game modes, I find this lessens the enjoyment of an objective based game such as Domination as some team members ignore the objectives overall.
Lastly the Zombies mode has built upon previous Treyarch installments of Zombies. You can still play the traditional survival mode if that's all that you desire, but if your wanting something a bit different I would suggest Tranzit. After several hours of playing Zombies, I grew to love the added features of Tranzit and of course the new Zombies easter egg. In Tranzit you and up to 3 others can go from one area to the next via a Bus or if your feeling adventurous you can venture into the mists by foot, just be sure if you take this path to watch out for the Denzines of the Forest that jump on your face (5 knife strikes will knock it off or 1 strike from the Galvaknuckles.)
As an overall game, Black Ops 2's Campaign is solid, and enjoyable, the new Zombies mode is enjoyable, introducing new things, whilst keeping the same round by round format, finally the Multiplayer is similar and the scorestreaks help balance things a bit, however this does solve the key issues of campers and quick scopers.
Total Score: 9/10