Archive for: July, 2009

Aion is one beautiful game.  Apparently I’m not alone in that opinion.  It’s currently topping the PC Sales Charts as a pre-order!

NCsoft makes it possible to create some of the most attractive avatars I have ever seen.  Ici here is one of six other beauties I made during the last beta trial (the next is this weekend, July 31 through August 3).  She’s Asmodian, so she gets black wings and her eyes glow fiery red when attacking. How cute!

But this is an MMO.  And I only flirt with MMO’s during their beta phase.  No clingy commitments, no messy break-ups, no hurt feelings.  Nice and tidy.  Though LotRO is always calling me, and hanging up.

The word “extreme” has forever been tainted in my mind.  Instead of the excitement marketing departments hope to conjure up by its usage, I prepare myself for an experience devoid of any subtlety.

While not actually using the term “extreme” yet, Dragon Age: Origins might as well.  BioWare is definitely aiming its sites firmly on the “Xtreme” crowd.   But at the same time, they are trying to call it the ‘spiritual successor’ to the Baldur’s Gate series.  That’s hard to swallow.  I’ve played Baldur’s Gate, and Baldur’s Gate II, and have just finished Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the the Betrayer.  That’s days of game play right there.  All excellent.  Never once did I hear anything remotely Marilyn Mason-like in any of the sound tracks.  Nor was I exposed to the extreme levels of gore I witnessed in the trailer or on the dragonage.bioware.com website.

But, alas, this is the new shit!  Prepare for tribal tattoos and plate mail-clad warriors with corn rows!   From the trailer, it’s looking like Dragon Age is more a spiritual successor to Doom 3 than anything else.  But instead of everyone’s favorite puffy space marines, you get outcasts from The Witcher.  And like The Witcher, its been revealed this week that DA:O is working the titillation angle as well.  Yay.

I want subtlety reintroduced into game development, especially in D&D style games.  I want to fumble with lock-picking and learning cantrips.  I want to feel like I stepped into carefully crafted sets like those of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  I want there to be a visual difference between a first level spell and a ninth.  And I want care in the story telling and character development like NWN2:MotB did with Kaelyn the Dove, or Oblivion did with the Dark Brotherhood line of quests.  Then we can start passing around the title of spiritual successor.  Until then, hold the Marilyn Manson and the Extreme Chilli Heatwave flavoring.  I’m feeling a little sick.

If you missed out on some of our initial offerings the first time ’round… good!  Because we’re introducing some of our most popular, most sold out items in special deluxe variations. The Meat Bun DX line updates some of our favorite video game tees from the our launch — The Four, Agro Polo and Fight Night — with each given a special tweak that makes those fan favorite designs even better.

Now available in the Meat Bun store are the first of three DX offerings!

• The Four DX edition is in the classic Famicom color style, burgundy with gold metallic ink.
• Agro Polo DX is done in soft, luxurious red velvet on black.
• Fight Night DX is reprinted in an eye-catching three color process, like the classic Frazier/Ali boxing poster.

And, in response to numerous requests, all these designs — as well as our classic Fight Night tee in “blood” — are available in extra extra large. We’ve listened to your demands, burly and husky types, so snap ‘em up now while we still have ‘em!