Observed

Wow Wednesday


25 man naxx was a precipice of insanity. I'm not quite sure what that means, but it sure sounds cool. Truly the first well organized 25 man I've been in, it shows that maybe 25 mans shouldn't be as readily avoided as I previously thought. My shoulders dropped, but alas, I did not win the roll. Which is a shame seeing as how my shoulders are my last remaning blue piece. But I'll be back in the dread citadel soon, and hopefully my pauldrons will be present. EoE is still a mire of wipes, as none of us can even get past the second stage. We are working on Ulduar, however, which is semi-stupid since it skips over EoE entirely, and loot from Malygos could be of prime importance in the battles to come. But as usual, I kept my silence within the guild.


I am a total lore nerd, and the world of Azeroth is pretty much my middle-earth. My world-away-earth, if you will. Because of this, bosses that are steeped in lore are very amusing to me, despite their level of difficulty.



One such boss, pictured above, is Algalon the Observer. A servent of the creators of Azeroth, he has deemed the planet too dangerous to continue its activities, what with the rampant gods of death and demon titans. He's about to send a signal to a inersteller demolition crew to destroy Azeroth (kind of like A Hitchhiker's Guide), and it falls to the heroes (you) to stop him. Although he believes what he's doing is for the greater good, we know that Azeroth has more then enough good in it to warrant survival.

I love good lore! I need to get the book on Arthas. God I'm such a nerd...

Reppin The Row

Saints Row is quite funny. Its hardly needs an explanation on why it is funny, simply play the game for 5 minutes. What you will see, among the G-strings and krunked out teeth, are Hot dog suits chase after ninjas with chainsaws and mini-guns, and see porn stars play microbiologists (Seriously)

But despite being a comedy in the same vein as "Meet the Spartans", it creates a interesting phenomena, it proves to be SO ridiculous, that one forgets its ridiculous, and simply enjoys it. Yes many people bill Saints Row as a "GTA clone." But honestly, its revolutionary in its GPS style navigation system, which had been carried over into GTA IV. Funny old world isnt it?

The recent DLC released for Saints Row 2 includes the afformentioned Microbiologist/Porn Star Tera Patrick and her quest to undo the innerworkings of Ultor. The downloadable content is actually satisfying, as it includes new outfits such as the swat and police outfit which I sought after, AND cool looking shirts that don't look like muscle shirts. All in all, even though I woulden't go to the Row if i knew where it was, its still fun to control.

Descent Into Madness

Wow Wedsday




"God dammit! This is Hard!" has become shorthand in the wow world for Ulduar. The new Instance introduced in the huge patch is truly a wonder. Designed by the titans when they ruled the world, it has become something of a melting pot for MADNESS after the release of the old god Yogg-Saron, who has corrupted the many valiant beings in charge of the Titan city.

The first boss, a thing from nightmares, is a vehicular combat boss. Being the way I am, I feel much more comfortable having my own skill set, rather than learning a new one in a multitude of vehicles (Even though i get to ride a super sweet bike). But since I have yet to get past the first boss, thats all I can really say about this raid.


I finally got my "the Argent Champion" title last night. And even though they didnt throw a parade like i thought they would.....it still means something. I reached the rank of Champion in the Argent Tournament as well, and i got my very own SQUIRE.........(assistant to the knight). I named him Jack. I have no idea why, i thought it sounded cool. He basically just follows me around and offers me bread, which I eat when im bored.

Honestly though, the Black Knight questline, which i was excited about, was TERRIBLY dissapointing. I killed him in five seconds anyway.

-Brenden [Incursio]

Where The Animal Crossing Is

For me, almost all Video games are Relaxing. The greatest of games (I.E. Ocarina of Time) are soothing and exciting at the same time, creating some strange dichotomy. But while games of various genres are usually relaxing, there are few games that are made purely for the means of relaxation. One of those is not that surgery game, cause surgery is never relaxing. More like Animal crossing.

Animal crossing first found its way to the Gamecube in the Summer of 2003 (I think) and being a humongous fan of Harvest Moon, which was really of the same mileau, I immediately ran out and bought it. Not only did it come with its own memory card (as a town took up a large chunk of memory to upkeep) but it also came with an undeniable charm. Yes it was cute enough to make Dethklok fanboys squeal, but it also contained a certain indescribable quality that few other games have.

Unfortunately, my town Delfino (named after the town from Super mario Sunshine) was lost forever in my brothers dorm room, for which i have never forgiven him. Therefore i retired from Gamecube Animal Crossing forever, content that no town I could create thereafter would ever rival the majesty of Delfino.

But This Christmas i decided to enter the world of Animal crossing once again, this time on the Wii. Suffice to say, it is the same old thing, in a very good way. Controls are simple, graphics are a tad better, and customization has increased tenfold. Yes no longer do you have to walk around in a Horned helmet, looking like you just got out of rehearsal for The Valkyrie. Indeed even your hair and your hat can be changed, something that was definitely a noticeable absence in the first. The best thing? Tom Nook returns in all his Loan Shark glory! Yes Nookingtons is open for business, so be sure to drop by when you have a free minute. The only bad thing about the game so far is that Buzz, the majestic eagle, and my BFF from Delfino, is missing. I will find him again one day...and we will hug for a little too long and it will be awkward. SO HELP ME! it will be AWKWARD!!

In short: Cute games can kick ass.

-Bren

Dual-Spectacular

WoW Wedsdays

Not often do I feel my prayers are answered, in fact they never are. Which might be the leading reason why I am an atheist. But yesterday I had one of my prayers answered, that prayer was "Can we please get fucking patch 3.1.0 already??" and the answer was an empathetic yes.



Yes it seems blizzard actually reads my blog, because no sooner then I complained about it, they released it within a week. Patch 3.1.0 is here and it is bitchin'. I guess. Really I don't have the legal tender to enjoy all its amenities, but with the release of the Argent tournament dailies, I feel like I should in no time. Pictured above is me with my mighty lance getting ready for the Argent games. Evidently, Blizzard thought we should have a competition amongst ourselves instead of fighting the Lich King. Good call! But seriously, I respect Blizzard very much so I find it very hard to criticize what they do. And sadly, I think I'm the only one who feels that way. Tuesday was officially patch day, and a patch of this magnitude, everyone knew downtime was inevitable. While some overestimated and some underestimated the time to get the servers back up, EVERYONE complained. I was frustrated, but nonetheless elated that it finally came. Everyone else was just frustrated.



Malygos the Spell-weaver, or as I like to call him "The most awesome Dragon EVER!!" is the only encounter within the Eye of Eternity, not to mention the Aspect (leader) of the Blue Dragonflight, so it should come as no suprise that he is among the most difficult fights in the game. The encounter is long and grueling, and of course since it is WoW, if you fail, you must begin anew. The problem seems to be DPS, but with my new build from the patch, we'll see if we can't improve upon that. Our battle with the Spell-weaver might be put on hold though, as the new patch included a brand-new raid: Ulduar. The home of the Old god of death. Sounds cheerful! I'll definitly let you know how my foray into the underground went, if Indeed i get to raid it this week.

- The Blue Dragon

Refusing Offers

Sorry about being postless on friday. Had family over and stuff you know the deal.




Despite being panned by most critics I've read so far, I think the Godfather II is a marginally entertaining action game. It has an extremely different taste then the original godfather, and while the original stuck rigidly to the films plot, Part II seems to care very little about the movie its based on. While that is a bad thing, and the story it creates is dull, it is still entertaining none the less. Managing your crew is simply fun as shit, and as sadistic as it sounds, plotting their deaths once they cross you (or pretending they cross you to justify you killing them to free up space in your family) is quite fun. I'd recommend it to anyone who liked the first one, although they should expect a different experience then the first

While I love Gamspot in every fiber of my being, it is sometimes very demanding in video games. Many believe real gamers are simply people who play good video games only, and being caught with, say Superman 64, is the equivilent of Hugh Grant getting caught in the limo with an ugly hooker when he had Elizibeth Hurley at home. I disagree. I believe being a real gamer is playing anything and everything. I've played superman 64 for fun when I was a kid, and Drake and the 99 dragons, and I knew they werent top of the line games, but you could still have fun with them when you were younger. Anyway I'm digressing.

Gamespot gave Godfather II a 4.5/10, which is abysmal by Gamespot standards. I believe its more of a 7,7.5/10. I understand gamespot is a reviewing website, so they have to review and talk about things that i simply dont care about, like sound or whether or not the graphics are top of the line. But i think this game could've gotten a better score, definitly

Forget everything about me loving Gamespot, I rememberd they gave Twlight Princess an 8.9/10. They should burn in hell.

-Bren

Patchwork

Welcome to WoW Wednesday at Sewer Surfin' Where we explore the world of Azeroth from week to week.



Part of me was beginning to think that Patch 3.1.0 was simply an urban legend, made to keep us salivating at the thought of dual specs until we blow all of our money getting our second-spec gear. I thought wherever patch 3.1.0 is, its the same place Bigfoot, the loch ness monster, and Joyce Dewitt from Three's Company reside. Our imaginations!

But that changed a few days ago. Patch 3.1.0 contains a revamp for Noblegarden (The wow version of the Easter holiday), and while many people don't really care about this, it became useful information two days ago when blizzard announced Noblegarden would commence April 25th. Being the practical human being that I am, I deduced that since the patch needs to be released for Noblegarden to start, that must mean that the patch would be released before April 25th! Although it worries me that no release date has been announced, and if it was going to be released that soon, we would've gotten one. Quite perplexing



I usually make it a rule to avoid 25-man's that don't consist mainly of Incursio (my guild) firstly because the threat of a Ninja is always looming. And secondly they require large scale planning and coordinating, and more often then not, one of the 25 believes they know more then the raid leader, and break off to start their own raid so they can accumulate their own loot. However, a few nights ago I made an exception and went to the 25-man Obsidian Sanctum (pictured above). Although it took awhile to get started, it was surprisingly easy. I suppose since OS is approximately 10 minutes and all the bosses require little or no strategy, this is one of the very few bearable 25-mans available. Even though I got no loot (nothing for paladins dropped anyway), I did get the achievement, and the knowledge I need to understand 25 man's better. Experience can be the best loot of all.

-Brenden [Incursio]

The World Ends With Mass Effect

Playing and beating mass effect on Insanity could only be described in two words: "In Sane". Actually it wasn't all that difficult, it took about three days.


Mass effect is something of an enigma, as even though it has a myriad of glitches you'd expect from a game circa 1995, it is still very entertaining. But seriously this game is glitchy as shit. Whenever I play it i Feel like I'm playing some sort of Beta that still has months of refining before its released. Maybe I am playing a beta, released by mistake due to a shipping error by UPS and Bioware were just covering their asses.

The funniest thing happened last night, as a result of one of Mass Effect's numerous glitches. For some inexplicable reason, Ashley disappeared halfway through the final level. For those of you who dont know, the two crew members you choose will argue over what you should do depending on who you chose, and almost every member can argue both sides of an argument (IE Wrex will be in favor of killing the council to save the rest of the fleet, but Liara would be against it. If ashley is in your squad, then she would be in favor of killing the council and Wrex would be against it.) But due to the error of only having one squadmate, Wrex (pictured above) had to argue........with himself!!

Wrex: You'd sacrifice humans for them? What've they done for your kind?
Wrex: This is bigger than humanity Shepard!
Wrex: Let them fight their way out, we need the ships to attack Sovereign!
Wrex: We need the council to help guide us!
Wrex: Shut up!
Wrex: No you shut up!!


Ok I added the last two parts, but thats the jist of it.
Evidently they released some DLC for the game, but I doubht I'll check it out. DownLoadable Content never really lives up to my expectations.


Since the yankees have offically started their stalwart quest for the championship, I am located most nights on my couch watching the game. While I'm more inclined to watch sports then most gamers, i still need something to occupy my time at commercial breaks or pitching changes

Enter the World Ends With You for the Nintendo DS. Well really not enter, because i've alread beaten it, but ill play it again just for the hell of it. SquareEnix really suceeds at making great storylines and dynamic characters. Which i think is what gives TWEWY its appeal. As the main protagonist, Neku's journey from annoying emo loner to friendly, heroic adventurer makes this one of the best DS games ever. Not to mention the fun and innovative combat. But honestly the combat irks me simply because the dual screen system is a bit superfolous. I mean seriously, do we need to have two battles going on at once? I already have enough problems with one.

-Bren

Streets of Rage part 2

Stage 4: Stadium



Evidently the gang has an urge to play Americas pastime, but after they get all their equipment and call their friend to play shortstop, they realize that not even the baseball field is safe! Make you're way down the walkway and try not to pay any attention to the signs that read "It's like Boo!" and "Do Baseball!". Either that was a Japanese attempt at saying something American, or the translators fucked up. Either way its bad. Defeat the Kung-fu Guy at the end and walk into Sega Stadium



Make your way onto the field and you'll see that security is definitely lacking at this ballpark. Henchmen have broken in and are practicing their pitching. Kick their asses, and avoid the elektra clone near the scoreboard to make your way to the pitchers mound. This is your first confrontation with Fatboy, and painfully he's like a mini-boss here so he has a lot of health. He can be annoying, so watch out for his fire breathing and his flying press. Just grab him and punch him in his fat face.



What the?? OK so the pitchers mound is evidently an elevator. Who knew? Many gamers will know that you cannot have a beat-em' up without an elevator level, so here's the first in SOR2. Trash mobs keep dropping and you keep fighting is how this part works. The only tough part is the very last drop, where four Kung-Fu guys drop down. You might have to use a special move or two, but you should make it through fine.

Boss Time: Abadede





Abadede (Who is NOT the Ultimate warrior, so don't even think about it ok? Seriously, he's not.) is the champion of the (literally) underground wrestling circuit located beneath Sega Stadium. If its only reached by using the pitchers mound, its a wonder nobody's found it by now. Don't let his really stupid name and pink undies fool you: Abadede is definitely the toughest boss so far, and may very well be the toughest boss in the game. He has a vast array of moves, and its very difficult to decipher what he's going to do next. He has many grabs, many punches, a dash attack and occasionally he'll stab you with what looks like a spoon. Basically all the advice i can give is to just attack right after he attacks, and hope he doesn't counter. A very good strategy is jump kicks. Time your jump kicks just right, and you can get him in an endless loop that'll save you at least 3 lives. I know it isn't very sportsmanlike, but these guys aren't fighting fair so why should you?. Once Abadede is down, pin him 1-2-3 and become the new champion! (Not really)



Note: After his crushing defeat by the heroes, Abadede retired from wrestling and began a career as a right-wing political commentator and travels around speaking to colleges. While speaking at Uconn, he famously said "Queering doesn't make the world work"



Stage 5: The Ship



Why're we on this ship? I have no clue, they never explain it. My guess would be that they were stowing away and got found out, but that's just my guess. Seriously, they never tell you how the hell you got there. Anyway, the ship is a pretty boring level, simply cause the scenery is pretty crappy. Fight your way through the dingy brown colored halls and you'll have a new enemy to face. These Taiwanese kick boxers aren't tough, but they can be annoying simply because they block. Wait for them to attack before you attack, or nothing will have an effect. Continue on to the end of the hall to face Wayne, Barbon's Pissed off twin. Maybe its just me, but he seems to throw you a lot more than Barbon did



Well now there's some fresh air at least. Welcome to the deck, where after fighting some random guys you'll immediately be punched in the face by a purple-haired Jet clone. Mach is easier then jet, cause he has about a third of Jet's life, so just kick his ass, and while he's down make fun of his purple hair.



After counting about thirteen axes on the wall (which sadly you can't use), your view of the sea will be obstructed and the scary dirt bikers will return. All of the dirt bikers are named after weather conditions, which, after using Blizzard, Tornado, and Hurricane, sound really lame. First you beat up Fog, then you beat up Gale, then you beat up Calm. The man's name is CALM! Poor bastard. This part might get a little tough, simply because "Low pressure front" or whatever the hell his name is, throws grenades in from the window while you do battle with Ninjas. It's hard out here for a pimp. Survive this gauntlet of Shurikens and Grenades and meet the captain of the love boat

Boss Time: R. Bear



R.Bear (which i pronounce "Robear" cause that's how i read it as a kid and now its stuck that way) is the mutant offspring of Bald Bull from Punch-Out! and Mario. His feet may look like they belong to a ballerina, but you'll stop laughing once he kicks your ass. Remember when I said Abadede was the hardest? I was lying, Robear is the hardest if you're playing solo. Grabbing him is difficult, because if you fail he does a multiple headbutt that takes out half a bar. And jump kicking's out, cause he'll shoryuken your ass. The only thing you can do is go hand to hand and hope for the best. My recommendation? Use specials. A LOT of them. If you can make it through this fight without losing a life, you're pretty damn good. If you're playing with two people this fight is a bit easier. Since he dosen't have any area attacks like Abadede, one person can distract him while the other hammers him from behind, and Robear will be down for the count.



Stage 6: Jungle



Even though the stage is named Jungle, its not really a jungle. You start off on a beach, and while you attempt to make a sand castle, a ninja kicks sand in your FACE! Time for some vengeance.This level is actually quite easy and quite short, really just a lot of wussy trash mobs and a few ninjas. Make your way down the Beach, and be careful of the two kick boxers who guard the exit.



Mr. X has set up shop on some deserted island it would seem (How un-cliche) and for some reason spent some of his money getting a crappy road paved to the beach. Follow the white lines and beware of the dirt bikers. Especially the purple one. God help you if you have to face the purple one. I'm just kidding he's the same as the rest. Speaking of purple, at the end of the road you have to face a purple headed elektra clone named "Reine" (purple rain. ha ha ha) make your way until you see the path leading to Mr. X's abode, and get ready for a boss fight.



Boss Time: Stealth (Jet) & Souther (Zamza)



See? This isn't even a real level, it doesn't have its own boss, just two bosses you fought previously, so you only get one pic. Souther has a bit more health then Zamza, but Stealth is weaker then Jet, so i just recommend taking him out first, so you can concentrate on Souther. Other then the health thing, he's pretty much the same so don't worry too much. If you could beat them separately, you can beat them together.



Stage 7: Munitions Plant



Welcome to the second-to-last level. The gloves come off in this one, as Mr. X throws the kitchen sink (and a few robots) at you to delay the inevitable. The plant is pretty tough, but thankfully there's a lot of health pick-ups in the canisters. An important thing is to watch your footing, as the conveyor belt can take you away or towards an enemy, and it doesn't really effect them, so you're at a disadvantage. Just pay attention and fight your way through the Ninjas and Domantrixes.



HA! Another elevator level. I hope your comfortable because you're riding it till the top floor. This elevator ride is no joke, they just keep comin', so you gotta keep dishin' it out. A lot of Kung-Fu guys drop, and I recommend taking them out first, because they can be trouble if you leave them be. Random trash can be left alone however, and since its close quarters, be sure to throw some guys into the group to buy you some breathing room. ten minutes and two lives later, you'll finally reach the top.



Boss Time: Molecule & Particle


For the Penultimate bosses, these guys are TOTAL pushovers. I guess after that long and arduous ride up the elevator of death, the game takes pity on you. Seriously, just treat these bosses like Mobs. Grab away and do some massive damage in a matter of seconds. It's tough to do in first player, but a useful tactic is keeping them separated. They're only attacks are a very slow moving laser beam, and they whirl their ball and chain around, which if your trying to grab the other android, can get annoying. But really even on single player these guys should be a breeze. Send them both to the scrap heap, and its time for final stage.



Stage 8: Syndicate Stronghold

Welcome to the Stronghold. A practice in the early 90's was that in the final level, you had to face a gauntlet of bosses you already defeated (sometimes they were weaker, sometimes not) and Streets of Rage continues that fine tradition. You face them all again, with the exception of Jet, because he fails at life. All of these bosses are pretty much the same as their counterparts, so I won't go into great detail about their strategy. Please check your coat at the door and make your way down the plaza to the first boss. and its....Oxygen? That's right, one of the same robots you just faced. I don't have a picture of him, and if you cant remember what they look like, you're an idiot. Kick his ass and forget he existed, and move on to Bear Jr.


This guy looks like Bald Bull had a kid with Luigi instead. Its pretty amazing that Robear had a kid, I mean, who would sleep with that guy? Anyway, give him the same beating you gave his poppa and move on to the third and final elevator segment



Gotta love these Elevators huh? First up is Vulture, another Barbon clone. This time he has A LOT of health, so play this one safe and use a lot of dash attacks or you'll have trouble reaching the top.



Then comes Nail, Zamza's little brother. Nail is by far the coolest clone cause he has awesome blue armor. If you made it through Zamza and Souther OK, you'll be fine this time around. And finally, Z. Kusano!



Remember when i said Ultimat....Ii mean, Abadede went on his speaking tour? Well he did, but first he Tried his luck in the Japanese Circuit under a different name. However he got stuck in a tanning booth and got a horrific Sunburn covering 90% of his body. Traumatized, Kusano returned to Mr. X and continued to work for him until his burns healed. That's my own interpretation of what happened. Don't like it? Too bad. Kusano is a bit slower and weaker then Aba, but still shouldn't be taken lightly. Attack when you see an opening and he'll really retire this time. The elevator reaches the top, and its time for the final showdown.




Boss Time: Shiva



Nice place X has, I especially like the matching deer heads. Knock out the random trash and Mr. X will send his Right-hand man out to greet you. Shiva is tougher then X himself, so don't get discouraged if you find him really hard. His main strengths are his attack speed and his grab. His grab consists of about 5 hits in the front, jumping over you, and slamming you face first into the carpet. So yeah, avoid that, cause it takes about about half a health bar. Air attacks work well, but he'll occasionally knock you out of the air. Just use dash attacks and if you try to grab him, try to be behind him first. Wear him down and prepare to face the big bad syndicate boss.



Final Boss: Mr. X



For the final boss, X is pretty easy, and there's not much strategy to him. He moves pretty fast and attacks pretty fast, but he doesn't have a grab, so just run in and grab him and punch his mustache off his face. Truly the only annoying thing about this fight is the trash mobs he keeps calling. They'll constantly get in your way, and he'll shoot at you with his dumb ass Tommy-gun while you're dealing with them. Jump over his stream of bullets, grab him, kick him, bite him, overdo it, who cares he's the last boss. Be sure to have some style on your last attack, cause you'll send him impossibly far into the air, which is awesome to see.



While he's descending slowly towards the ground, bullet casings falling all around him, I bet he wonders how the hell did he let a little kid with skates take down his empire. Congratulations! You've beaten Streets of Rage 2




Well there you have it! Mr. X's Criminal empire is in shambles, Skate is reunited with his brother, and the gang makes their way home. All thanks to some kung-fu, and turkeys lying in garbage cans. I had a lot of fun writing this, so ill definitely write some more! For now, I'm gonna go play something. Not streets of rage 2.......ok maybe.....probably.