Month: June 2012
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Lootboxes – a way for MMOs to separate us from our money
Lootboxes are a fairly new phenomenon, at least in the MMORPGs I play the most, Star Trek Online and Lord of the Rings Online, and they are an interesting attempt to separate us from our money. Real money, not in-game stuff. And it is not necessarily a bad thing, but it may not bode well…
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How Star Trek Online offers a different challenge from most MMOs
I will not declare complete knowledge of MMOs by a long shot, but Star Trek Online is different from all the MMOs I’ve played (or tried). These differences add a bit of complexity, yet most MMO players will find things familiar enough that it will not be an issue. The biggest difference between STO and…
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Currencies and Store Integration in Star Trek Online
Having been a Star Trek Online player since the beginning, I’ve seen the evolution of currencies and stores in the game. Initially, there were energy credits that were used to buy things in in-game stores, like weapons and gear for your characters. There were also Cryptic points, which were bought with real money to buy…
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Star Trek Online, LOTRO, Saints Row 3, and Infamous – lots of gaming, little time
I finished the main plot of Saints Row: the Third last week (as noted here), and even did the other version of the ending (which killed Shaundi, yet I still seem to be able to call her up when I need Homie support, so it’s all good). Therefore, what am I still doing playing the…
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Star Trek Online Videos
I’m enjoying Star Trek Online so much that I made a couple of videos. I bought the Constitution class cruiser upgrade, so I wanted to show it off, too. The first clip is sector space leaving Sol and heading to the Delta Volanis cluster. The second, much longer, clip shows one of the random encounters…
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Impressed by Star Trek Online improvements, but new bug annoys
I played a bit of Star Trek Online yesterday and an mostly impressed with the improvements since I last played more than a year ago. Since STO is now free to play, there is no reason not to try it if you are a Star Trek fan. It looks like the strategy may be working,…
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Enjoyed Saints Row the Third
I thoroughly enjoyed playing Saints Row the Third! This is the first Saints Row game I’ve played, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I did expect something like GTA IV, but with wackiness, and that’s essentially what I got. The plot isn’t terrible, but you can do lots of other things besides the…
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Finished main quest in Skyrim – Time to Move On
Gaming has been odd for me lately. Many of the people in my kinship in LOTRO have dropped out of playing, as grinding for gear at level 75 gets old really fast. I have been on LOTRO a few times in the last couple weeks working on my lower level characters primarily, but my heart…
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Killing in Games-How Morals and Games Sometimes Don’t Mix
I’ve played many games that involve killing things, from Space Invaders-type games in the late 70s and 80s to today’s Skyrim and Gears of War games. In the early days, you killed spaceships or vague blobs on the screen and it wasn’t terribly personal. Your mind made the games intense and interesting, even if the…