According to SuperData Research Hearthstone is doing so well it is leading the pack in sales to the tune of $20 million per month! That's an impressive number considering Hearthstone started out on a small team at Blizzard. Hat tip to them though, the game is incredible and I love opening those free packs and grinding quests for gold. I've known Hearthstone has been successful for Blizzard but we've never known how successful till now.
With Bethesda and EA getting into the digital collectable card game genre it's a good time for people that want to try out different approaches to the genre.
... Read All
According to SuperData Research Hearthstone is doing so well it is leading the pack in sales to the tune of $20 million per month! That's an impressive number considering Hearthstone started out on a small team at Blizzard. Hat tip to them though, the game is incredible and I love opening those free packs and grinding quests for gold. I've known Hearthstone has been successful for Blizzard but we've never known how successful till now.
With Bethesda and EA getting into the digital collectable card game genre it's a good time for people that want to try out different approaches to the genre.
Bethesda has finally brought Fallout Shelter to Android after debuting it on iOS a few months ago. iOS users will also see a Fallout Shelter update in version 1.1. What's in the new version? Check below.
What's New in Version 1.1
To ensure your experience is as enjoyable and hassle-free as possible, Vault-Tec engineers have implemented some exiting new features!
Overseers should be on the lookout for new threats to their Vault Dwellers. Some Vaults have reported attacks by burrowing Mole Rats and enraged Deathclaws - likely attracted by the sound of new construction. Vault-Tec has partnered with General Atomics International in order to offer Overseers their very own... Read All
Bethesda has finally brought Fallout Shelter to Android after debuting it on iOS a few months ago. iOS users will also see a Fallout Shelter update in version 1.1. What's in the new version? Check below.
What's New in Version 1.1
To ensure your experience is as enjoyable and hassle-free as possible, Vault-Tec engineers have implemented some exiting new features!
Overseers should be on the lookout for new threats to their Vault Dwellers. Some Vaults have reported attacks by burrowing Mole Rats and enraged Deathclaws - likely attracted by the sound of new construction. Vault-Tec has partnered with General Atomics International in order to offer Overseers their very own robot butler - the Mister Handy! Now you lazier Overseers have a friendly, entertaining alternative to tapping and collecting resources. (Crumpets not included.)
Our engineers clearly underestimated the, *ahem*, usefulness of living quarters to stimulate Vault growth, resulting in gross overpopulation and decreased Vault efficiency. Rest assured, the simulation has been adjusted, and Vaults of all shapes and sizes should now run more smoothly.
Not content with stealing your Vault's resources, some rather enterprising Raiders have now resorted to stealing Caps as well. (If you haven't armed your Vault Dwellers yet, now's the time!)
As Vault-Tec does not approve of the use of unsanctioned levitation technology, all Vault Dwellers that were found floating through the air have been grounded. Permanently.
Some of the more difficult daily objective requirements have been adjusted to more obtainable levels. You're welcome. Continued general maintenance to the Vault simulation. Because an efficient machine is a happy machine!
Dropping by just to say that Deathclaws suck. My vault dwellers make short work of the Raiders, but the Deathclaws tear my poor dwellers to pieces! I've started stockpiling extra med packs just to keep people alive.
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After a time in beta Terraria officially comes to Mac & Linux to much joy. I've been playing it on my Mac and Fedora Linux machine and it works incredibly well. The Steam cross saves really make the experience really seamless. I consider Terraria a national treasure so it's good to see that anyone can play it on any of the major PC platforms.
"Mac and Linux Terrarians, your day has finally arrived!
We here at Re-Logic are thrilled to announce that we are officially launching the Mac & Linux versions of Terraria today! This has been a very long time in coming - and we know how very much the Community has desired these new Terraria platforms, so we are eagerly... Read All
After a time in beta Terraria officially comes to Mac & Linux to much joy. I've been playing it on my Mac and Fedora Linux machine and it works incredibly well. The Steam cross saves really make the experience really seamless. I consider Terraria a national treasure so it's good to see that anyone can play it on any of the major PC platforms.
"Mac and Linux Terrarians, your day has finally arrived!
We here at Re-Logic are thrilled to announce that we are officially launching the Mac & Linux versions of Terraria today! This has been a very long time in coming - and we know how very much the Community has desired these new Terraria platforms, so we are eagerly looking forward to hearing your reaction. :)
For everyone, please note that this will be Terraria 1.3.0.8. This version ensures compatibility between Mac/Linux and Windows - no other substantial changes come with this update."
I've been using Ubuntu Linux as my primary Linux Desktop since it's first version, Warty Warthog. Fun fact, Travis and I first met as moderators for the Ubuntu Forums website and have been friends since. In my opinion, Ubuntu has been the best Desktop Linux for years and recently have I felt that position change. I don't want to get into a Linux distro war debate but needless to say, over time, the changes Ubuntu has been making to it's system have annoyed me. I don't particularly enjoy the Desktop they are creating or the direction they are headed. That said, I applaud them for all the hard work and as a many years loyal Ubuntu fan, leave with a lot of respect for... Read All
I've been using Ubuntu Linux as my primary Linux Desktop since it's first version, Warty Warthog. Fun fact, Travis and I first met as moderators for the Ubuntu Forums website and have been friends since. In my opinion, Ubuntu has been the best Desktop Linux for years and recently have I felt that position change. I don't want to get into a Linux distro war debate but needless to say, over time, the changes Ubuntu has been making to it's system have annoyed me. I don't particularly enjoy the Desktop they are creating or the direction they are headed. That said, I applaud them for all the hard work and as a many years loyal Ubuntu fan, leave with a lot of respect for the project.
I've been looking around for a new Linux to fill my needs as there are so many to choose from. Mint Linux aims to fix much of the strange direction Ubuntu is going, Arch seems to be a very modern take on a DIY distro for power users and Fedora Linux has always been something i've wanted to try more of. After acquiring a Fedora 22 USB install drive from OSCon this year, I decided to give it a spin in a Virtual Machine and was very happy with the results. So much so that over the next week I re-imaged my PC with a dual boot of Fedora 22 and Windows 7.
One common complaint I hear from folks is that Fedora and other Red Hat RPM based distros suffer due to package management. This was very true a few years ago, but in my experience this has all but evaporated. Want to install Handbrake, Steam or Banshee? Install the RPM Fusion repository and use the graphical program to do it. I did have to drop to the console to do a few things, but I find that to be par for the course on any Linux distro I install. I cataloged all my steps in a Github gist you can read below.
Those steps will get you all you need to get Nvidia drivers & Steam running as well as tweak your fonts to look a bit nicer than the default settings. I really enjoy the Gnome 3 Desktop and I have also included steps in that gist to make it work more like a traditional Mac-like Desktop with dock and menu bar. Gnome 3 is a great Desktop it just has a few odd defaults and after you turn them off I works better(I think).
Video game performance on Fedora 22 is about what I've come to expect from Linux, which is to say very good but not quite as great as Windows for some games. Fedora 22 packages a good version of Wine so I got Battle.net to run alongside Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm. Occasionally Hearthstone lags a bit but it doesn't make matches unplayable. Over the years Wine has gotten great at emulating Windows software and seeing how well it works now, gives me hope for future non native Linux gaming.
If you are looking for a nice way to start out on Desktop Linux Fedora 22 ain't a bad way to go. You could always try it out in a Virtual Machine and if things go well install it on a spare PC. That said, some of what you love in Fedora comes with SteamOS and over time I imagine that may become my primary Linux Desktop. Until then, Red Hat's bleeding edge community distro is a strong option and I have really enjoyed using it.
Azurephile Super Member
wrote on 08/10/2015 at 02:37am
What distro did I start out w/? I think Red Hat, that was back in the late 90's. I've tried a few others in that time, but Ubuntu was one of my recent favorites (circa 2005). However, I later didn't like how the UI changed.
Fedora was the distro used in a class I took at my local community college. The class was working towards Linux+ certification, which I didn't attempt, but aced the class.
It's been a long time since I've dual-booted Linux. I do it sometimes, but don't end up playing around with it very long.
Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member
wrote on 08/10/2015 at 05:13pm
Not SteamOS?
jdodson Admin Post Author
wrote on 08/10/2015 at 05:29pm
@Will I think that I might try it a bit later. For now, Fedora is full featured and has a path for it being a very good Desktop OS. SteamOS isn't officially released yet, but when it is I will check it out for sure.
SteamOS is still really rough around the edges, and I don't think will ever be the best idea for a desktop. If you get SteamOS and install all the stuff in it to make it a desktop, then a quicker way would be to just install Debian and then put Steam on it. The big customizations coming from SteamOS are just simplifying ways to get your drivers up-to-date, providing a way to immediately boot into Big Picture mode, and a few hooks from Steam into the OS so you can customize things straight from Steam. All of these, aside from customizing the OS from Steam, are done easily in a desktop Linux distro. And Valve has said that, while you can install anything you want, the bare-bare-barebones desktop environment is there basically so you can more easily tweak things.
Most of us have games to last us for years. If I just played games to completion on Steam I have yet to start, i'd be playing for the next 10 bazillion years. It's a great time to be a gamer but so many choices can be a bit overwhelming. Recently i've been enjoying the Cheerful Ghost Borderlands 2 event. We get together every Monday and play through the game a couple hours at a time. If you pay any attention to the site here you also know my current standby is Hearthstone. Currently I am saving up gold for the new Grand Tournament expansion, so when it drops I can buy as many packs as I can. Currently I have enough gold saved for 20 packs and I hope to get more gold... Read All
Most of us have games to last us for years. If I just played games to completion on Steam I have yet to start, i'd be playing for the next 10 bazillion years. It's a great time to be a gamer but so many choices can be a bit overwhelming. Recently i've been enjoying the Cheerful Ghost Borderlands 2 event. We get together every Monday and play through the game a couple hours at a time. If you pay any attention to the site here you also know my current standby is Hearthstone. Currently I am saving up gold for the new Grand Tournament expansion, so when it drops I can buy as many packs as I can. Currently I have enough gold saved for 20 packs and I hope to get more gold to bump that ever upward. We have the current Cheerful Ghost Terraria server going strong and I wish I could play it more. Terraria requires a huge time commitment, something I can't do right now due to juggling a plethora of life things. That said, earlier this year I completed the original Legend of Zelda and that experience left me wanting more Zelda so a few days afterward I started up The Ocarina of Time. I've played this game before always getting near the end before, for whatever reason, I don't complete it. This time may be different but it's fun to just play it again for however long that lasts.
When I come back to an old classic like the original Legend of Zelda or Ocarina of Time I try and ask myself if the game still holds up? In the case of Ocarina of Time the game holds up as well as it did in 1998 with a few exceptions. As gaming has advanced since then I noticed the frameyness and the control scheme isn't quite as polished as a modern Zelda. With that what Nintendo pulled off on the Nintendo 64 is admirable and once I started the game it's graphical low resolution and occasional play control jitters didn't bother me at all.
I am not going to get into a full review of Ocarina of Time as it's been discussed elsewhere in better detail. I will say that as to my last session I just opened up Jabu Jabu and have yet to complete that level. I am not very far into the game as I can only sit down to play it about one session per week but every time I do the games adventure brings me right back to "dat 90's magic." I have a Nintendo 64 and the Ocarina of Time cart but for this playthrough I have opted to play it over Mupen 64 on my Nexus Player. Mupens upscaled graphics and the ability to map controls to a XBox 360 controller are nice but about every hour and a half the game crashes due to what I consider to be some kind of memory leak. I save often and it's not hard to get back to where I was, but emulation is still not as good as just playing on the original hardware itself as far as stability goes for the 64. If you are looking to head back to an old classic you couldn't do much better than Ocarina of Time and if you wanted to break lots of pottery, there isn't a better way I know of to live that experience.
Azurephile gives this a solid "Rad" on the Ghost Scale
This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.
Azurephile gives this a "Rad" on the Ghost Scale
This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.
Review
Recommended, especially if you have a PC that can run it
Survival, crafting, and taming dinosaurs and other creatures!
*Update 12/2019* This was written during Ark’s Early Access period, which is now over. The game has multiple expansions and at least two more coming. It’s also now available on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. Today’s hardware is also much more suitable for running it and the game is better optimized.
How I found out about Ark: I can't seem to recall playing any kind of sandbox survival game before Minecrat and Terraria. My son was playing Minecraft before me and it took me a while to jump in. Before doing so, I watched a series on YouTube... Read AllReview
Recommended, especially if you have a PC that can run it
Survival, crafting, and taming dinosaurs and other creatures!
*Update 12/2019* This was written during Ark’s Early Access period, which is now over. The game has multiple expansions and at least two more coming. It’s also now available on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. Today’s hardware is also much more suitable for running it and the game is better optimized.
How I found out about Ark: I can't seem to recall playing any kind of sandbox survival game before Minecrat and Terraria. My son was playing Minecraft before me and it took me a while to jump in. Before doing so, I watched a series on YouTube called “How to Survive and Thrive” (in Minecraft) by Paul Soares, Jr. Apparently, he was the first (or one of the first) to post a Minecraft guide series on YouTube. It was excellent and afterwards I thoroughly enjoyed playing Minecraft.
I kept watching Paul's videos and have learned about a few cool games because I've watched him play them. I previously wrote about two Early Access games, which fit the “sandbox survival” genre, called Salt and Stranded Deep. In those games you need to survive out in the ocean among groups of islands. However, I have just experienced a new one called ARK: Survival Evolved.
What is Ark? Ark can be best described as a survival game that includes dinosaurs mostly, but also other creatures from millions of years ago such as Dodos and Trilobites. Some of the currently featured creatures include Trikes (Triceratops), Raptors, Dilos (just like in Jurassic Park), Mammoths, many more, and more to come.
Creature taming: Perhaps one of the things that sets ARK apart, too, is that you can tame these animals and ride them, fight with them, or give them some of your inventory to carry around. Hunting and taming is a challenging process, especially among things that are trying to eat you. However, you can tame your own small army and take over!
Single and multiplayer PVE and PVP: While the game contains a single player mode, it also features quite an extensive multiplayer mode. Players can connect to official or unofficial ARK servers and join others by creating Tribes (teams). Tribes can go PVP or PVE and it sounds like an interesting experience that I have not yet tried.
Video settings: The wiki contains a link to a great guide on Steam. I also found other guides on Steam quite helpful in setting my video settings so that the game ran smoothly. There are presets and each one lists the name of a GPU that users may need for those settings to work properly. I ended up finding a guide and changing many of the game's settings along with some other minor out-of-game configurations. Now the game seems to be running much more smoothly. The thing to remember is that this is an Early Access game and may not yet be fully optimized.
The game is coming soon to PS4 and Xbox One. Paul Soares, Jr. said that it was the highest rated game on the Steam Store the day it became available for download. So, it does seem to be quite popular even though it has mixed reviews. Some players have complained of the difficulty. While it seems the map is not yet randomly generated, the creatures and item placements are. Therefore, you can most certainly spawn in a place and be instantly eaten to death by something dangerous. Still, I think with experience and “research,” the game is actually fun.
Both of the games that I've backed because of dinosaurs (The Stomping Land, and Orion: Dino Beatdown), ended up flopping, so I'm wary. ARK does look interesting, though, and I might give it a chance at some point. That Unreal Engine is awful pretty :). Good review!
Nice thing about ARK though is that it's out in some form and can be played. I had another friend that backed The Stomping Land, I think more than a few people were upset about that one.
Well, yeah, Stomping Land was pulled from Steam eventually, but it was playable before the dev went silent. Orion: Dino Beatdown was playable for quite some time, but has since been re-established as Orion: Prelude, which is apparently doing relatively better (at $.99, the expectation/risk isn't that high). ARK looks like it has much more polish than both, and the price seems reasonable.
Azurephile Super Member Post Author
wrote on 08/09/2015 at 11:38pm
Thanks for the comments! The devs of ARK seem to be serious, new content comes out frequently. The game is popular and the multiplayer aspect of it is huge, so I'd be very surprised to see this game not complete Early Access. The fact that it's coming out on current gen consoles seems to support that.
One of the things I really liked about a trailer I saw was someone riding a Pteranodon. Paul also met up with a T-Rex in one of his videos. Those would be awesome to have!
Azurephile Super Member Post Author
wrote on 08/11/2015 at 01:54am
I've taken two screen shots of the two families I've been able to capture on screen together. My son said he's impressed. I'm happy to have a Dilo, Trike, and Parasaur. The Dodo's a little added bonus, although the Dilo attacked me when I was away from camp (camp=also where I was taming trike) and so ended up joining me (it was tamed quickly being such a low level).
Azurephile Super Member Post Author
wrote on 08/11/2015 at 11:42pm
My curent dino family includes 2 Trikes, 2 Dilos, 2 Dodos, 2 Parasaurs, 2 Philomia, 1 Raptor, and 1 Sarco (croc). Doubles mean I have mates, which means those get mate bonuses. Changing some of the world settings really helped. I did die w/ this character and world a few times, but this is currently as far as I've been able to progress. I do have a lot of Engrams unlocked, so I can make things like wood and stone housing.
I was careful in an area where there was a Sarco, but I eventually found it or one again stuck on a tree trunk or so. It was only level 4 and I was able to tame it. So, now I'm not so afraid of the area where I found him.
I also wrote a Steam review for the game, because I believe it's an excellent game despite some negative reviews. So, I thought I'd help with a small and positive review.
Azurephile Super Member Post Author
wrote on 08/17/2015 at 03:44am
Oh, I really love this game! I have been fully immersed in it for a while now. There are a few things I thought I'd mention.
I do strongly recommend the game. Maybe there will eventually be a demo, that would be great because then people could at least give it a try. If you want a smooth out-of-the-box experience, it's probably best to wait until some time after it gets released, or even just get it for a new console. Otherwise, you're going to want to (easily) research settings to use to optimize the game's graphical settings to reach the balance between performance and quality you want. Just look on Steam, there are some helpful guides there that show the game's settings and what someone recommends you set them to.
I saw another recommendation that adding "-USEALLAVAILABLECORES -d3d10" to the launch options really helps. It was also recommended to put the game on High priority in Windows Task Manager, which is easy enough to do. However, I thought it'd be cool to be able to launch the game automatically on High priority, and so I set up a new shortcut for the game that does that and includes the game's optional launch options I was using.
I must say now the game loads a lot quicker. It runs pretty well, not 100%, but still pretty well. I expect the game to be more optimized upon graduating from Early Access and being released.
The really game scares me and keeps me anxious, which isn't something I'm used to while playing a game. I've seen some really big and nasty dinos that can tear me and my dino pets apart in a matter of seconds. I've been watching a Tyranosaurus (not Rex) take out multiple Brontos. I've also seen a Spinosaur tear into some dinos. I have been killed plenty of times, too. The game is about survival and being careful is usually a good idea, so always watch your back!
Azurephile Super Member Post Author
wrote on 08/17/2015 at 04:47am
Here's the guide I used to help configure the game for my PC. I strongly recommend this guide for any PC as it contains some important in-game configuration settings as well. Also, even though the person who wrote the guide is using a Titan GPU, I've found these settings to be excellent even on my 690.
I also created a new shortcut for the game which looks like this, which opens the game with recommended launch options and as a High priority process: Target: C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /c start "ShooterGame.exe" /high "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\ARK\ShooterGame\Binaries\Win64\ShooterGame.exe" -USEALLAVAILABLECORES -d3d10
Azurephile Super Member Post Author
wrote on 08/25/2015 at 01:19pm
I'm so excited right now. I noticed that, in his videos, Paul was using a whistle to tell his dinos to eat what they killed and I couldn't figure out which one he was using. So, I posted a comment on his latest video asking. Google didn't help me find the answer I was looking for, but later I found an answer in the Steam community forums. Still, someone replied with what I needed to know. No only that, but Paul did, too! Wow!
Azurephile Super Member Post Author
wrote on 08/27/2015 at 10:55pm
Are you playing this single player or online? Looks like it's pretty hard on shared severs with others.
Azurephile Super Member Post Author
wrote on 09/26/2015 at 06:48pm
100% single player. I'm kind of stuck right now because I want SCUBA gear so I can go looking for a Plesiosaur, but that gear requires level 75 to unlock and I'm only about 70. So, I'm not really sure what else to do to get extra XP (although I am using options that have increased that multiplier). Right now I'm waiting on that big update. The new biomes are going to change a few places and I'm concerned that my dino pen may be affected. I have a home in one place w/ some dinos, but a pen I made for other dinos in an area that is receiving a change and thus my structure (pen) in the area may be destroyed.
Anyway, I think it's a great game!
Azurephile Super Member Post Author
wrote on 06/03/2018 at 07:48am
Ark turns three today!! What an amazing three years of gaming with Ark, it's been. I've spent much more time playing Ark than any other game ever and I'm still loving it and playing it! I'm so grateful! I'm looking forward to what's to come and reflecting on what has come.
It's funny looking back at these old comments when I was happy to have 268 hours of gameplay. My current logged hours are actually 2687!!!! This just has to be my favorite game!
Starcraft II is a great game and comes with an amazing multiplayer mode that is fun to play with friends. That is if they know how to play Starcraft 2. One mode that is coming to Legacy of the Void looks incredible and might be something I play quite a bit of and might get some of my friends to play Starcraft 2 with me.
"In Allied Commanders, you play as one of the many heroic leaders in the StarCraft II universe. Each with an arsenal of various powers and abilities and a select group of unit types which you may use to compose your army. All of these tools make playing each commander a unique experience."
You should check the link below to see what each races commanders... Read All
Starcraft II is a great game and comes with an amazing multiplayer mode that is fun to play with friends. That is if they know how to play Starcraft 2. One mode that is coming to Legacy of the Void looks incredible and might be something I play quite a bit of and might get some of my friends to play Starcraft 2 with me.
"In Allied Commanders, you play as one of the many heroic leaders in the StarCraft II universe. Each with an arsenal of various powers and abilities and a select group of unit types which you may use to compose your army. All of these tools make playing each commander a unique experience."
You should check the link below to see what each races commanders do and which one you might like with your play style.
Adding another multiplayer mode to Starcraft II sounds great and I am seriously looking to check this out. So far there is no release date for Legacy of the Void I know of but when one is known, i'll let you know.
You can pre-order the digital Legacy of the Void version now and if you do you get access to 3 prologue missions. PC Gamer recently reviewed them and if you are interested in learning if they are fun, check out the review below. I haven't played them yet as I am going to get the physical collectors edition and it's not yet available for pre-order.
iD Software dropped a new Doom trailer that features some new footage we haven't seen previously. The new footage is included with some earlier footage, but if you are itching to get some new Doom in your face, this is it.
New Doom is coming out in 2015 and I can't wait to check it out. That said, the more I watch this footage the more I feel bad for the Demons. Seriously, this game won't be a good time for them.
iD Software dropped a new Doom trailer that features some new footage we haven't seen previously. The new footage is included with some earlier footage, but if you are itching to get some new Doom in your face, this is it.
New Doom is coming out in 2015 and I can't wait to check it out. That said, the more I watch this footage the more I feel bad for the Demons. Seriously, this game won't be a good time for them.
This article is from April. I regret that I did not share it then. This is truly an awesome tech demo that is worth taking a look at. The PC running the demo is showcasing four Titan X GPUs and featuring DirectX 12.
It's really impressive, but this isn't something we're going to get any time soon.
Still, we're getting close to photorealistic games. What's next? Honestly once games achieve the best graphical quality possible, what's the Playstation 7 going to do, for instance?
Azurephile Super Member Post Author
wrote on 08/07/2015 at 02:39am
Yeah, so that's a $4,000+ set up. It is very impressive. How long before this becomes mainstream or even obsolete? It might take a few years for those Titans to become obsolete. It's fascinating to think of what's in store for the future. What about this kind of quality (or better) for virtual reality? How long before those technologies and qualities meet and become mainstream? It might not be as far away as we think.
Angry Birds 2 dropped a few days ago and I happily downloaded it, because, who doesn't like Angry Birds? It might be a bit simple sure, but it's fun to fling birds at those pigs. Truth be told I was never a huge Angry Birds fan myself but I did play quite a bit of the original and Angry Birds Space(think Angry Birds meets Super Mario Galaxy). I also don't mind trying a mobile game if the price is right and in the case of Angry Birds 2, it's free.
First off, Angry Birds 2 starts out in the same way as the first game. The pigs steal the nests eggs and the birds want them back. Yup, same plot as before. I know Angry Birds isn't known for it's narrative but Rovio is... Read All
Angry Birds 2 dropped a few days ago and I happily downloaded it, because, who doesn't like Angry Birds? It might be a bit simple sure, but it's fun to fling birds at those pigs. Truth be told I was never a huge Angry Birds fan myself but I did play quite a bit of the original and Angry Birds Space(think Angry Birds meets Super Mario Galaxy). I also don't mind trying a mobile game if the price is right and in the case of Angry Birds 2, it's free.
First off, Angry Birds 2 starts out in the same way as the first game. The pigs steal the nests eggs and the birds want them back. Yup, same plot as before. I know Angry Birds isn't known for it's narrative but Rovio is pulling a entry out of the Nintendo's tried and tested "absolutely do not change the narrative of any franchise" formula. So are you telling me that after the upset avians got the eggs back from the pigs that they learned absolutely nothing and let it happen again one dark and story night? Well yes, yes they are. Which is why I think I understand why the Angry Birds are so upset. The worst kind of anger can be directed at yourself and after seeing the pigs steal the eggs one more time the birds have to direct that rage at themselves. Fool me once? Angry Birds. Fool me twice? Angry Birds 2 - We Have Learned Nothing.
Besides the plot, which isn't that big of a deal in these kinds of games, is the gameplay. Rovio has turned the knob to 11 because they improve on the gameplay of the original Angry Birds in nearly every way. The destruction is more chaotic, the explosions are more fun and the sound effects and graphics are much more polished. The game feels like a triple A mobile effort and at every turn is very polished. I experienced no bugs playing it and found the user interface wasn't confusing or annoying. The massive effort that went into Angry Birds 2 shows, the gameplay is superb.
As I noted earlier, Angry Birds 2 is free. That said, Rovio still needs to pay to keep the lights on so they added a freemium system. You start out with 5 lives and they deplete as you fail to complete stages. Don't beat a stage with the birds you are given? Lose a life. This isn't a big deal in the starting zones but the difficulty ramps up and then you run out of lives. You can get more lives by waiting or by spending in game currency, which is in this case is gems. I felt this was a missed opportunity in that Rovio could have gone with pig bones as the in game currency. It seems much more fitting to spend the remains of the vanquished than gems as gems appear in nearly every mobile game and enemy parts have still yet to be used. The in game economy isn't bad if you don't mind waiting or shelling out money, but like many freemium mobile games you could be waiting a very long time. In the end the freemium nature of Angry Birds 2 didn't bother me as by the time my lives ran out I stopped playing(everbody wins). I am not sure how much i'll end of playing Angry Birds 2 but it's a solid effort and if you loved Angry Birds, you need to come back and get angry all over again.
Oh no, pay gates? Do you get an option to buy the game and not have them, or are they all microtransaction based? If it's the latter, this is an instant pass for me. I don't want to reward that behavior with a download counter increase on their stats. I don't mind if there's an option to get out of it by buying the game outright, which a few games have done, but that's just Candy Crushville all over again.
Azurephile Super Member
wrote on 08/04/2015 at 04:03am
I noticed this elsewhere and read about it. I have all, or almost all, of the Angry Birds games on my Kindle. I bought some, but others are the free versions. One of the last times I played through and made it to the Halloween stuff, which was awesome. Then my Kindle died and was promptly stolen due to my accidentally leaving it setting at a dental office. I bought another, much better HDX later.
Anyway, thanks for your review. I may get it installed. I was afraid of how they changed the game play, but from what you said, it sounds much better. The lives thing kind of sucks, but I guess that makes it a game you can play for a bit and then wait a while before playing again (to replenish lives).
jdodson Admin Post Author
wrote on 08/04/2015 at 05:36am
Travis: there is no buy out option, just crystals.
Azurephile Super Member
wrote on 08/04/2015 at 06:15am
It doesn't seem like it's out for the Kindle yet...
jdodson Admin Post Author
wrote on 08/04/2015 at 02:36pm
Travis: they have the option for you to watch a 30 second video for another life. As annoying as that is. I guess they must make a ton more money on the freemium game than a for pay one.
Yeah, still. They weren't exactly losing money with the old model, where you could play for free with ads or buy it outright without them, and even providing tons of free updates for years on all their various games.
And many companies have had super success with selling cosmetic things or even helpful things that aren't necessary. Currency doublers, or hats, or any number of things people would really want to buy, without limiting your access to play the game. Halfbrick made tons of money on Jetpack Joyride from all those costumes. TF2 is the poster child of selling cosmetic items to keep income coming in. Guild Wars 2, while you have to pay for the game up-front, doesn't have a subscription because people refer to it as Fashion Wars 2 a lot. People will shell out to make their characters look nice, or buy access to convenience items that help but are by no means necessary.
Freemium doesn't have to be an evil model.
jdodson Admin Post Author
wrote on 08/04/2015 at 11:40pm
Not sure i'd call it evil. Annoying perhaps, but not evil. Not sure true evil is as easily vanquished as simply deleting an app
That's good. I was worried about blizzard. :)
Hahahaha. I know. They could have been in trouble otherwise.