Hi, my name is Kara. You might know me from a month or so ago. I write for this blog and have suddenly disappeared! But do not fret! I have returned from a blogging vacation caused by laziness to update you on my video game playing habits! REJOICE!
You missed me, right, RIGHT?!
It appears my last update to the blog was over a month ago..sheesh. I can't even remember what I've been playing in the last month. I'm sure there were good amounts of WoW, probably some Torchlight and definitely some Borderlands. Of course, there's always a constant stream of Farmville to top it all off, but those are all boring and mostly have been discussed before and due to my epically slow progression in games updating the blog on those activities could get boring and repetitive. Instead, I'll update on a new game I got to playing this past week, Left 4 Dead 2.
This past week I was on vacation for the holiday to my home state of Washington. Nate and his wife Cindy also came along and so did Nate's Xbox. We didn't get a whole lot of video game playing in while we were home just due to being extremely busy, but we did get to play some L4D2 a couple nights. I purchased L4D2 a few weeks ago when it was on sale on Amazon, but hadn't really gotten around to playing it. Nate and I sat down one night and started playing the Dark Carnival campaign. Nate really wanted to get the Guardin' Gnome achievement. We had attempted earlier to get the gnome, but failed miserably. This time around using an ample amount of assault rifles and moltovs we got it and were therefore determined to complete the campaign so he could get his oh so sweet pink Depeche Mode t-shirt. I have to say, completing this task was probably single handily the most frustrating, yet the most enjoyable moment I've ever had in video gaming. It wasn't carrying around the gnome that caused the issues, it was the fact that playing on Normal in L4D2 is HARD. I mean, I'm not talking die once, figure out a strategy kind of hard...I'm talking about dying multiple, multiple times and playing through the finale 5 times before completing it kind of hard. At the end of it, I was beyond frustrated, but looking back on it the next day it was so unbelievably fun. L4D2 is most definitely significantly more difficult then L4D. Normal in L4D2 feels like Advanced in L4D. When you suddenly have a spitter, a jockey, a tank and a boomer at one time, it becomes a bit overwhelming. Valve has most definitely achieved the goal of removing any and all strategy from the game that players might develop. While I look back on it now and relive the moment, the excitement and the frustration and feel a sudden rush of how much fun it is, I certainly hope that Valve releases a patch in the future to tone it down just a tad bit. I'm not asking for a cake walk, but trying to get rid of two tanks while a spitter is puking corrosive acid all over you sort of makes your blood boil. I could not even imagine playing that game on Expert.
Showing posts with label Torchlight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Torchlight. Show all posts
Monday, December 21, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Adventures in Babeland - Weekly Gaming Girl Diary: November 2, 2009
First and foremost, let it be known, there will be NO discussion of WoW in this blog update as I have not played WoW for the last week. Those who are tired of reading about WoW each and every week, REJOICE!
What did consume my gaming life this past week was Borderlands. I purchased the game on release day and have been slowly making my way through the game. I've done a bit of co-op play, but have decided my slow and steady pace doesn't necessarily keep me at the same pace as all my friends, so I've fallen a bit behind. But that's okay! I'm actually really enjoying the SP elements of the game. I'm the type of gamer that goes in and out of phases of gaming where I'm totally obsess to no care ever, so SP is nice because it allows me to move at my own pace without worry. I'm up to level 17 with my hunter and still thoroughly loving the game. You've probably heard a lot about Borderlands since it's release, so I'll move onto something else a bit more interesting.
I have found a new addiction and that addiction goes by the name of Torchlight. I first heard about the game on The Instance (A WoW podcast I listen to). I had seen some information on it a while ago in my gaming blogs, but wasn't that intrigued at that point. Once I heard Scott Johnson of The Instance rant and rave about it and inform me that it was created by two of the designers of Diablo and Diablo II and played very much like the games, I knew I had to check it out. On Sunday I downloaded the demo off Steam and got to playing...before I knew it I was done with the demo, but instantly felt the urge for more. I immediately purchased it. After that I played for at least 2 to 3 hours straight. I was in love.
The game itself plays very much like the Diablo franchise. It's your basic hack n slash dungeon based game with loads and loads of loot. I particularly enjoy the art style of the game. It goes for a more "cartoony" art style compared to Diablo's bit more realistic style. I like it and it just adds to the overall delightful feel of the game. One of my favorite features of the game is your pet. Every hero class gets a pet. My initial thoughts were "hmm, pets are cool, I guess" until I learned of the most essential role of the pet...it's ability to sell your loot. One of the biggest frustrations for any Diablo fan was that there was so much loot and only so much space in your bag. If you're like me and have issues leaving loot behind simply because free loot = money in your pocket you felt compelled to pick up every single item you ever came across and this lead to many, many trips back to town to sell the loot. In Torchlight, all you do is transfer your unwanted loot from your inventory to your pet's inventory and with the press of one simple button, the pet runs back to town, sells the loot and returns to you. You go a few moments without your helpful companion, but all in all it does not take that long for the pet to turn and just makes the game that much more enjoyable. If a feature like this is not available in Diablo III, well, I really don't know what I'm going to do.
It was quite the easy decision to purchase Torchlight because the game only costs $20 and is EASILY worth that low, low price. If you're a fan of the Diablo franchise, you will easily enjoy this game and for $20, it's almost criminal to pass it up.
What did consume my gaming life this past week was Borderlands. I purchased the game on release day and have been slowly making my way through the game. I've done a bit of co-op play, but have decided my slow and steady pace doesn't necessarily keep me at the same pace as all my friends, so I've fallen a bit behind. But that's okay! I'm actually really enjoying the SP elements of the game. I'm the type of gamer that goes in and out of phases of gaming where I'm totally obsess to no care ever, so SP is nice because it allows me to move at my own pace without worry. I'm up to level 17 with my hunter and still thoroughly loving the game. You've probably heard a lot about Borderlands since it's release, so I'll move onto something else a bit more interesting.
I have found a new addiction and that addiction goes by the name of Torchlight. I first heard about the game on The Instance (A WoW podcast I listen to). I had seen some information on it a while ago in my gaming blogs, but wasn't that intrigued at that point. Once I heard Scott Johnson of The Instance rant and rave about it and inform me that it was created by two of the designers of Diablo and Diablo II and played very much like the games, I knew I had to check it out. On Sunday I downloaded the demo off Steam and got to playing...before I knew it I was done with the demo, but instantly felt the urge for more. I immediately purchased it. After that I played for at least 2 to 3 hours straight. I was in love.
The game itself plays very much like the Diablo franchise. It's your basic hack n slash dungeon based game with loads and loads of loot. I particularly enjoy the art style of the game. It goes for a more "cartoony" art style compared to Diablo's bit more realistic style. I like it and it just adds to the overall delightful feel of the game. One of my favorite features of the game is your pet. Every hero class gets a pet. My initial thoughts were "hmm, pets are cool, I guess" until I learned of the most essential role of the pet...it's ability to sell your loot. One of the biggest frustrations for any Diablo fan was that there was so much loot and only so much space in your bag. If you're like me and have issues leaving loot behind simply because free loot = money in your pocket you felt compelled to pick up every single item you ever came across and this lead to many, many trips back to town to sell the loot. In Torchlight, all you do is transfer your unwanted loot from your inventory to your pet's inventory and with the press of one simple button, the pet runs back to town, sells the loot and returns to you. You go a few moments without your helpful companion, but all in all it does not take that long for the pet to turn and just makes the game that much more enjoyable. If a feature like this is not available in Diablo III, well, I really don't know what I'm going to do.
It was quite the easy decision to purchase Torchlight because the game only costs $20 and is EASILY worth that low, low price. If you're a fan of the Diablo franchise, you will easily enjoy this game and for $20, it's almost criminal to pass it up.
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