Tomorrow morning I leave for Japan and since I never set up a proper way to write updates to this page, this will probably be the last one until I return at the beginning of October.

I'll be touring around by bicycle for the next 88 days so if you feel like keeping up with my progress, I have another blog set up specifically for this trip:

The Eggplant Curse

Bonus nerd points if you know where the name comes from without having to Google it. For those only interested in the topic at hand, I'll be sure to take advantage of Tokyo as best I can as a hardcore video gamer. I will not return until I've visited at least one video game themed bar/restaurant, and been mercilessly defeated at Street Fighter IV in an actual Japanese arcade.

I'll see what else I can think of while I'm there and be sure to get some decent pictures. If you have any suggestions, let me know!

Hopefully when I come back I wont be too far behind in Starcraft II. I haven't even finished packing yet, and my Starcraft II ladder performance is what's worrying me. This is going to end well I'm sure.

I can't help but continue to be impressed by what I read about Guild Wars 2. If you haven't had a chance to look into it in detail there is lots of good information at guildwars2.com.

The latest video popped up on Kotaku a couple of days ago showcasing the Warrior class, you can see it below:

Not only is it quite impressive graphically, but the sound effects and animations are spot on and the art direction is fantastic. But as good as it looks there are some things that are cause for concern.

Maybe I'm looking into this in too much detail, but judging by the flow of combat it seems that they may have done away with auto attack, which is a welcome change and something I said before needed to be trashed in any self respecting next generation MMO. Unfortunately the skill chain system they describe that seems to be replacing it isn't quite what I had hoped for:

Kotaku
Fighting is made even more convenient using chains, series of skills that use the same hotkey and fire off in sequence, sort of like the roulette system used in Spellborn. For instance, the sword chain Sever Artery, Gash, and Final Thrust all reside on one key. Hitting that key once kicks off Sever Artery. The next press activates Gash. The third invokes Final Thrust, and then the whole thing resets. Neat and tidy.

I think they're missing the point of skill chains entirely. Chain attacks are supposed to make combat more varied and encourage the player to pay attention to the fight instead of just repeatedly pressing one button. Sure it will be fun to watch your player execute the combo, the first hundred times, but once you're over that you'll realize that nothing has actually changed.

Attacks in MMOs should be more tree than chain where the player has to make decisions about what to do next based on what the mob, or even better what his allies are doing, and not just be God of War style attacks - press X three times to do something awesome.

I'm also a bit concerned about how easily the mobs were dying. Even though they were probably very low level for the purposes of the video, I'm still worried that WoW's all powerful influence has managed to spread it's corruption to Guild Wars 2, removing every challenge and replacing it with shiny effects and free epics. I guess we'll have to just wait and see.

In my ideal MMO if the Warrior in the video didn't block that fire breath it would have killed him outright, and possibly burned you in real life. Maybe that's a bit much, I just seems like it has been far too long that MMO combat has been more like a war of attrition than the gladiatorial combat that it should be.

Combat should be about choices and tactics, not just having enough hit points or doing enough damage to cover for your mistakes, even while fighting a baby goblin.

I'm off topic as usual, and none of this really matters anyways. As with any MMO, content is king and no combat system, quest system or character customization can save you from a lack of it. So far Guild Wars 2 seems to have the basics down at least, we'll just have to see what they're able to build on top of that. I'm not expecting the Mariana Trench here, but something deeper than WoW's wading pool would be a welcome change.

I'm in a sort of video game limbo. Since I'll be leaving for a few months, in less than a month, it feels pointless to be working on (working on seemed more appropriate than playing) an MMO or trying to climb any of the various FPS/RTS/Fighting Game ladders that are around.

Without this distraction I haven't been too sure what to do with myself. So after announcing my boredom to several people on MSN/Google Talk, refreshing Kotaku several times and seriously considering maybe doing some actual work, I decided to write something. I'm now about two paragraphs in and I still don't actually know what I'm writing about..

I let my mind drift to the topic of video games, and immediately there are a few that stand out, and so I think I've found my topic. The most memorable games of my gaming life (so far).

This isn't about graphics, innovation, game play mechanics or even popularity really, it's simply a list of the first games that come to mind when I let my mind wander, and why I think they were so memorable. I'll attempt to list these in reverse order, but the order is more or less random!

Super Mario Bros.

The original Super Mario Brothers was in many ways responsible for making home console gaming what it is today.

The music, the sound effects, watching less video game inclined relatives instinctively thrust the controller from side to side as they jumped. Mario was an unlikely mascot and an unexpected hit. I suspect this one would be on many people's lists.

My personal reason though, is that the original Super Mario Brothers was the first, and last game that my dad ever finished before I did, and so it will always be a game that sticks in my memory more than most.

For a while there I was worried I would miss the chance again this year. I'm going to be out of the country (and largely away from technology) for three months starting at the end of June, and as an example of how devoid of responsibility my life currently is the only thing I could think of that may be affected by that was that I may miss the opportunity to buy tickets to Blizzcon.

Let me make clear that I'm going as a fan of Blizzard, and not a fan of WoW. This is the gaming equivalent of going to a party knowing that your ex-girlfriend will be there, only to ignore her and try your best to act like you didn't even know she was going. Cataclysm? I didn't know you would be here! What a nice surprise, it's so good to see you!

So in keeping with my avoidance of WoW, I wont be wearing Nightelf ears, Tauren Horns or anything of the sort, but I will most definitely be checking out Diablo III and seeing if I can weasel my way into any Starcraft II tournaments.

Really I've just been a fan of so many Blizzard games that I think it's one of those things I should go to at least once. Either way I'm sure I'll have a good time.

Let me know if anyone out there is planning to attend. We can go out for a drink, or several. I know of at least a few old EQ friends who will be there.

This is all assuming I can beat the queue and actually buy the tickets. Last time I didn't even get that far.

I haven't posted much lately, summer is here (mostly) which means I make my yearly effort to be outside more often than inside. I'm still working my way through Final Fantasy XIII but find I'm not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. I still intend to finish it, but it's not quite good enough to win the daily battle against drinks on a patio in the sun.

Dragon Age: Awakening was also a bit of a dissapointment according to several people, so I'm going to hold off on that one until I can pick it up for cheap. There are a few games I'm eager to play now that I have a PS3... God of War III, Demon Souls etc. but I've decided not to pick them up until I'm done with FFXIII.

So, long story short... the gaming scene is a bit dull right now, something that seems to happens every summer.

There is however one game that has captured some amount of my attention. Largely because I can play it at work, and in spite of my infinite rage at micro transactions and gated gameplay.. Lord of Ultima is actually pretty interesting.

It's in open Beta now, and I'd encourage anyone who likes upgrade buttons and progress bars to try it out. I would normally dismiss this as a farmville-esque money grab/waste of time, but the fact that it is technically an MMO, where everyone's cities exist in the same game world, and you can plunder them or take them over makes it interesting enough to be worthwhile.

After about a two hour time investement there isn't much of a time commitement required to remain competitive (at least as far as I've played) so it's a nice distraction now and then.

It's certainly not going to become anyone's favorite game, but for the summer season it's perfect. I could see it becoming quite popular when it goes live as long as they don't immediately cripple the gameplay to force use of the item store.

I'm playing with a few friends on World 3, and spawned on continent 24. If anyone gives it a try, feel free to find me. I'm playing as Nemui. I have a city as Tiluvar as well, but I've mostly abandoned it!

Lord of Ultima