Tiers of Video Games.

Everybody like to classify video games...RPG, Shooter, Action, Adventure...But, in my opinion all video games can easily be classified into 6 tiers of video games. Be warned though, video games can multi-tier and many people will disagree with my classifications...

1. Indie Titles

Indie game developers are usually small, self-publishing game dev companies that can make some seriously awesome games. They don't need the funding from a Game-publishing company and this can often benefit them as they aren't forced to make a single, repetitive game yearly, with not nearly enough time to debug *cough* CoD *cough*. However this usually leaves them with lesser funding, not being able to afford the giant orchestras for their OSTs and the voice acting of Icecube. Some of the games are simple incredible though and are often sold at a lower price than the usual $50-$60 price tag that accompany new releases. Some great indie titles include Bastion by Supergiant games, Fez by Polytron Corporation, and Torchlight 1&2 by Runic Games.

2. Published Titles

Published Titles are created by a Game Dev Company that has secured publisher support, such as EA or Activision, but don't have the "oomf" of a AAA Title. They have certain quality-boosts over indie games such as graphic wise and music wise, but sometimes in gameplay they can lack. The Devs have to meet the publisher's requirements in (sometimes) quality and sales, if they don't they might not get picked up for the development of another game. These games are a step "above" Indie games, but sometimes lack the quality-control and ammount of resources that AAA Titles have. Published Titles include Deadpool by High-Moon Studios (published by Activison), Blur by Bizzare Creations (published by Activison Blizzard), and the Dante's Inferno by Visceral Games (published by Electronic Arts).

3. AAA Titles

Pew pew. If an Indie title is a bullet, a Published title is a rocket-propelled grenade, than a AAA Title would be a bloody thermo-nuclear weapon in the video game industry. These games cause major sales and are often the highest quality titles the video game industry has to offer. Their popular and the publishers know it. The graphics are usually cutting-edge, the sound had to be recoreded by either a popular artist (such as Eminem) or an entire orchestra, and the voice-acting is of some famous people in other genres (movies or tv shows). Their gameplay is iffy, that has to do just with the quality of the developer, but it is usually superb. These Titles could also be rushed by the publisher, leading to sub-par gameplay. Some examples of AAA titles include Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 by Treyarch (published by Activsion), Halo 3 by Bungie (published by Microsoft), and the upcoming Grand Theft Auto V by Rockstar North (presumably published by Rockstar Games).

4. Casual Titles

To be honest, I personally do not spend a lot of time on these games, but occasionally they can be enjoyable. These are the games that "normal" people play on Facebook or on their phones when they don't have a lot of time or if they're bored. In my opinion these games are small bits of entertainment that have no depth at all. They lack a good story, decent gameplay, and just more content. These Titles usually have a 2nd currency that players can obtain for real-life money aka micro-transactions and sometimes a cash shop. These Titles usually have the plan to get your friends addicted in exchange for your own benefit and usually have you checking back once a day. These games are entertaining to an extent, but will eventually get boring.
Casual Titles include Candy Crush Sage by King, Farmville by Zynga, and Dragon City by Social Point.

5. Time-sink Titles

Casual games usually have you to check-up once a day. Compared to that, time-sink games probably take up hours of your day, you're probably playing one right now. These games usually include a sense of progression, and large-scale availability to a variety of people. Sometimes, these games are free, relying on micro-transactions to make money. These games vary in quality, but they usually require a long time to reach late-game and even in late-game there is probably more time-consuming gimmicks such as PvP or a ranked league. Some examples of Time-sink Titles include League of Legends by Riot Games, World of Warcraft by Blizzard Entertainment and Maplestory by Wizet (published by Nexon).

6. Classic Titles

Classic Games. Games that will always stay with us. Games that get better with time and will always be fun. Their imperfections are ignored  and their gameplay is usually critically-acclaimed. Everything is great, from the old-school soundtrack to the lack-of voice acting. Classic games are old, but still fun even when we have massive games like Saints Row the Third or Call of Duty. These games had smaller budgets and simpler mechanics. Sometimes Simpler is just better. Classic Titles include Super Mario 3 by Nintendo, Total Annihilaiton by Cavedog Entertainment (published by GT Interactive), and GoldenEye 007 by Rare (published by Nintendo). 

That's it for today...

GLHF

-Yutao

Old Old School

PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii...All of these current-gen systems all support a wide variety of games. But none of them support the good old-fashioned fun of sitting around the table and rolling some dice with your friends. Brace your swords and hold ye shit together...it's time for a Dungeons and Dragons blog post!

Dungeons and Dragons is a game you primarily play with your friends in the realm of your mind. It relies on role-playing and an interesting story to keep the players engaged and entertained. Typically you have 4-6 players at one table with a single Dungeon Master (DM). The DM is the glue that holds everyone together, he is the "pope" of organized religion or that CEO that calls all of the shots. The DM is the one that creates the Adventure, runs the Adventure, and plays the mobs that want to kill you. If you do anything that might upset him/her, he/she might just roll a 20 crit on a flying flaming magical arrow from across a continent that hits you in the eyeball.

The player characters (PC) are the adventurers in the DM's story. These people perform amazing feats and slowly build up their characters to become incredibly powerful. Well, usually. Death is mostly permanent and if you just so manage to roll a 1 on certain rolls you might just find yourself in hell OR WORSE. All the PC's actions depend on your dice rolls. A set of 7 dice usually includes a 20 sided dice, a 12 sided dice, a 10 sided dice, a 10 sided percentile dice, a 8 sided dice, a 6 sided dice, and a 4 sided dice. All of your rolls depend on these and if you don't roll high, you're usually fucked. 

Dungeons and Dragons is a semi-complicated games, but once you get friends and a decent DM, it's incredibly enjoyable and rewarding.

GLHF
-Yutao

I don't need it....I don't need it....I NEED IT!

Are you ready for a miracle? That's right, it's Steam Summer Sale time! All those games that you've never had the chance to play? Buy them at 25-90% off! On-the-border games, bad games, good games, Tripple-A games, classic games, multi-player games, and that one copy of Dead or Alive volleyball that you've always been eyeing. :P

The process of the Steam Summer Sale is a brilliant move by Valve. Not only does it bring Valve a shit-ton of profits, it also give less known games a chance at being up in front. And not only does the game gain publicity, it also gets a fuck-ton of sales due to the lower price (40% or higher). Games like Reus or Kerbal Space Program would of never made the Steam best-selling, but due to the power of the Great Gabe, its possible. The PC gaming community is also being boosted by the Sale, as both the Sale gets a large amount of traffic from gaming websites and YouTube. Total Biscuit even has a short 10-20 minute "episode" about each day of the sale. However the Sale does have some pitfalls.

First off, never buy a game straight-up off the Steam Shelves. You gotta be patient, like a kung-fu master. There's a very simple thing to follow and I'm going to lay it out for you right here:

Daily Sale-Buy it.
Flash Sale-Buy it.
Community Choice Sale-Buy it.
Last Day of the Sale-Buy it.

If it does not fall into any of these categories: DO NOT BUY IT.

There are also some strategies that you can use if you only have a certain amount of money you can spend and if you have no limit, go bandannas:

1. Make a list of games that you want and STICK TO THIS LIST

2. Set a certain amount of money aside for impulse buys, say $10-$20, so you can still have a degree of freedom with the sale.
3. If you miss the game you wanted the first time, don't worry about it. It might go back on sale again as a flash sale or a community-choice.

Anywhoo, those are my thoughts on this "event"

GLHF
-Yutao

Hunting of the Monsters in the Third Version

Hello, Yutao here. I was just watching CBS's premier of Person of Interest and Elementary, when I suddenly had the urge to kill a giant winged dragon.That's right and I went and killed a giant winged dragon in Monster Hunter Tri. One of the best games for Wii, and if you have Dolphin, PC. There's really not much story to this game, except that there's a nasty sea monster attacking a fishing village, and you have to save them from complete and utter destruction. It's and action game with RPG elements, the game has its own mechanics, that set it apart from other games.

There is no skills, or any stats or any of that stuff. You have a set of armor and weapons. You can only have one weapon equipped however, so choose wisely. Each weapon has different combos, and different damage outputs. For example, the very baisic sword and shield is a very quick weapon, allowing many combos, however each hit itself doesn't do that much damage. The Greatsword on the other hand take a long time to swing. but it does tons of damage when it connects. The armor in this game is pretty awesome. You get better armor from the "loot" you get from killing a giant monster. This loot can be crafted into weapons and armor to make you more powerful. Oh yeah, and there's multiplayer, so you can slay monsters with 3 other friends.

There are some drawbacks to this game. Apart from the weak storyline, there is also grinding involved. You might have to kill a monster 3-4 times to get the loot that you want to make the armor you need. Some drops are rare, and it does get repetitive slaying the same monster 3 times in a row. This trait comes from its previous games, and Tri doesn't stray far from its past. The game is very good, however and the controls are spot on. The music is amazing and the graphics are among the best for Wii (not saying much, but it really is incredible). Oh, and there is an axe that transforms into a sword.

I heartily recommend this game to all you Wii owners, It's a hardcore amazing game that looks spectacular.

GLHF-
Yutao

The Importance of Music In Video Games

Music...often under appreciated in the world of gaming. Yet still incredibly important in setting moods and being awesome. To be honest, I really like the OSTs from video games. Many of them sound incredible and really f*cking amazing.

One of my favorite OST's is the Monster Hunter Tri OST. The music really fits the game. When succeed in a mission and start gutting out a humongous beast to take home, it sounds awesome.

The picture displays a Barioth and what a great feeling it is to kill him, cut open his guts, and Tbag him. Oh yeah...and the Music is awesome.

One of my favorite songs of all time is the Legend of Zelda theme. Apart from fitting the game perfectly, its also a beautiful medely.

You know what? Jordan One last amazing song...

The best gaming setup...EVAR?!? Part 2

So, continuing off what I said in a post below not 8 hours ago, there must be more additions to my ideal gaming set up. (Yes, I lied, get over it)

There has to be a DVR and a high quality capture card nearby, just in case of those WTF and OMG moments in gaming. The Hauppauge HD PVR 2 seems like my choice for a capture card.

So Shiny...
Ahem, apart from shiny stuff, I shall also require sustenance. a MiniFridge, Microwave Oven, Microwave, an electric hotplate, and a fire extinguisher will all be nearby. As well as a sink, with a high quality filter, because damn...I love my water. Seriously? Who doesn't like water? It's only like the best drink ever, so it goes perfectly with my best gaming setup ever .

Now we have to go a bit farther than just the desk and stuff attached to/on the desk. The Room I am in will be air-conditioned in the summer, have a fan for Spring and Fall, and have a fireplace to roast marshmallows in the winter. The door will require a passcode to enter and a fully functional baseball bat will be nearby.

Very Nice baseball bat, I know...

I've always wanted a loft. so above my desk with the gaming is going to be loft and the loft will have one of those personalized drop down 12 in TVs like they have on planes. Speaking of planes, the Entire thing is going to be built into a solar powered Lear Jet and be completley self sustaining, as well as space faring. Kinda like the Normandy. But I digress.

Well, I got off topic, but thats really all I have on my Ideal Gaming Setup, so...

GLHF
-Yutao

The best gaming setup...EVAR?!?

So I know my daily blog doesn't come out at around 4 pm EST, but I'm bored. So I'm going to pelt you guys more stuff from my brain. Cooleo. Lets go on with the topic.

So I just want to talk (or type) about my ideal gaming set up. First off you gotta start with the desk. Probably a modern table. Something like this would be pretty sweet.

Just the Keyboard would have to in the center and it would have to have shelves attached to the legs. The desk itself would be bigger and the chair would have to be more ergonomic as well. Three monitors is also nice, with the middle one being a TV. Webcam, sensor bar, mic. All the controls would be interchangable; for example, if I wanted to play like Blur, I could just move the keyboard to the side and put the wheel in the center. Onto the Shelves. One for PS3, One for Xbox 360, One for Wii U, and One for my Laptop. A large collection of games would also be nearby, as well as a drawer for controllers and stuff. The headset would probably be the Razer Banshee, because not only does it look amazing, it actually gives decent sound.

The Logitech G-19 Gaming Keyboard is pretty awesome and would serve as my primary keyboard.

When the word mouse comes up, nothing can compete with the wired Razer Deathadder

The entire thing would be hooked up to highspeed internet and the Laptop would be the Alienware AM18XR2-9545BK. With a couple of one terabyte hardrives near by, just so I don't have to worry about memory.

Well that's it for gaming set-ups from me.

GLHF
-Yutao

The League of Antarctica?

The Institute of War in the Winter

I've been playing this game, I don't know if you've heard of it...It's called um, League of Legends, or LoL in short? It's pretty popular just about everywhere, cept Antarctica. It's pretty bad how Antarctica doesn't get major gaming releases. I mean, if you were to go on an expedition to the Antarctica, what would you bring for Entertainment? If our expedition had decent Internet, I guess a laptop loaded with League of Legends would be a pretty decent pick. Then again, a laptop in my possesion would probably be loaded with more games than just League. Lets say...7? 7 games? Ok.

Assuming Decent WiFi
1. League of Legends (already stated above)

2. Team Fortress 2, just to scratch that FPS itch that comes every few weeks. Well, not just...TF2 is truly an amazing game and with full mod support and regular updates. FFS, having TF2 as the only game while in Antarctica would be alright. Everyone, check out TF2. Its free.

3. StarCraft 2, RTS game that's probably the 2nd most popular esport right now. It's faced paced frantic building and attacking probably makes with one of the best RTS's right now. Full Mod Support is avaliable and I've been finding myself play a ton more Star Battle.

4. Minecraft, I'm not even going to bother with this part. Minecraft is amazing, plus a friend of mine just brought up a server so yay, even more time wasted on building a Pokemon stadium.

5. Monster Hunter Tri. Get a giant weapons, get 4 of your friends, go kill dragons and mother monsters. One of the best games for Wii and I seriously can not wait till the Wii U version arrives.

6. Left 4 Dead 2, 4 player co-op, zombies, tons of campaigns. Tons of Fun (damage)

7. Torchlight 2: Yeah...read the one from yesterday. 6 players, guns, dungeons, flaming swords...yep

Assuming No Wifi

Damn, this is hard. The entire video game industry has been pushing toward multiplayer so...damn...um lets start

1. Total Annihilation, one of the games from my past that is absolutely amazing. The campaign, music and gameplay are just spectacular. Try this out if you want and old-school RTS to play.

2. Half-Life 2 (you don't need an explanation, just go buy it and play it)

3. Mount and Blade Warband. A medieval action game that is well, hard. Easy to pick-up, but incredibly hard to master. Seriously, I've gotten my ass kicked so many times in multiplayer, ugh....

4. The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. Wander around and kill stuff. Huge ammount of content thought not much depth. Still, its kinda like exploring a brand new world.

5. Mass Effect 2, You are the bad-ass Commander Shepard and you will force those 12-year old Reapers back to their happy place

6. Torchlight 2 (see above)

7. Emulators. Pokemon mostly, then maybe some Kingdom Hearts and some Mario Kart.

GLHF
-Yutao

PS: I can't believe Gangnam Style has over 260 million view, I still remember when it still had 10 million views. Lets see if we can get it to Most Viewed? Most Viewed? Maybe? Call Me? (bad puns ftw)

So....Blogging...+Torchlight 2

So...blogging. What is blogging? It differs from person to person, but I am probably going to use this for writing stuff about gaming. Ya know, video gaming. 360, PS3, Wii, PC. So, the first game blog is probably going to be about a game that I recently picked up.

TORCHLIGHT 2

Wow. This game is absolutely amazing. This ARPG by Runic Games is amazing, just amazing. Whether you are spraying down enemies with dual pistols or cleaving enemies to death with a giant sword, you feel like an absolute badass, But, I digress. You start off by making a character. You have 4 classes to choose from. Each class has 3 skill trees, which in turn is like a sub-class. They are all fairly different, especially with the engineer. Now each class has access to every weapon, which mean you can be a tank with a shotgun or a mage with a giant flaming sword, however skills are usually based on the weapons you use and its usually a good idea to stick with the weapons you have. The combat is absolutely amazing. Every weapons feels overpowered and you have the great ability to make mobs explode. Like literally explode into gibs, fire, and money. The gameplay is smooth and quite perfected. Now the skill tree is a bit old, but it does give that nostalgia feeling, from the old days of Diablo 2. The graphics aren't as powerful as some "ahem" other Diablo 2-like games. But it makes up with it for its art style. Its all cartoony and fun. Another negative part is that the story is just "meh" at best. 

Lets go past the story look at the gameplay. As stated above, its incredibly polished and perfected. You feel like a badass, and you get a freaking pet. The pet can vary from anything from a wolf to a ferret. I think right now you have 10 pets to choose from, but its great. The pet has its own inventory and you can use it to go back to town to pick up supplies and sell unwanted gear. Did I mention you both have a massive inventory, so you can loot as much as you want. 

Oh yeah, there's multiplayer. 6-player co-op multiplayer. Many other people complained that the first game was lonely, well Runic Games listened and brought 6 players to one sitting. Loot isn't shared, btw, so that mean each individual get their own loot bag and stuff. Its pretty good stuff, taking away one of the few things that start arguments in a co-op game. From what I've played so far, its amazing. I have a good 10 hrs already done into this game and I am still playing it. 

There's also mod support. :) and New Game Plus

Expect this game to have a pretty long life-time. It's a must have at 20 dollars.

9.5/10 from Yutao

(No this isn't going to be a review blog, its just going to be a gaming blog, this just puts my feeling down into numbers, and I like numbers, Torchlight 2 gives you a ton of numbers in the statistics part, btw, just for all you number crunchers)

Pros-Gameplay, Art-style, Giant cleaving swords

Cons-"Meh" story

GLHF
-Yutao