DLC Done Right – The Witcher 3

Happy new year everybody, may 2017 be simply awesome!

Let’s kick off the new year with a bit of positivity, a change of pace from my usual rants, but I had fun during my break. I went back to play The Witcher 3, specifically the expansions: Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. Continue reading DLC Done Right – The Witcher 3

Role Playing Grumbles – The Worst Tropes in RPGs

UPDATE: I went on a bit of a rant with the Powerless Power-Ups section and didn’t make my point very clear. I’ve now edited that.

I’ve been playing RPGs for a long time. I wouldn’t say I started playing this genre as a child, I really didn’t. I got seriously into RPGs with Final Fantasy VII when a friend loaned it to me—though that isn’t my favourite title in the series—and since then I’ve gone through dozens of titles in the genre in a variety of platforms, from the original NES to current gen systems. And my interest in RPGs goes beyond video game but also into tabletop. I play D&D and many other games—though not as many at the moment, sadly.

Role-playing Games, like any other genre have common elements between them. Some of these tropes are very good and even form the basis of the RPG genre in itself, but there are others that I wish I could forget and force others to do the same so we may never see them again in any video game.

This article is about the latter, the sins. Though as a disclaimer, I’ll say that this is my opinion only. They’re my beliefs. Continue reading Role Playing Grumbles – The Worst Tropes in RPGs

Annoying Game Mechanics – Tutorials

Annoying Game Mechanics are those that just make you groan when you see them in a game. You’ve seen them at their best but you’ve also seen them at their worst. You can’t love them but you can’t hate them either, but you can definitely be annoyed!

This week the mechanic I’m having an issue with is Tutorials! Continue reading Annoying Game Mechanics – Tutorials

The Witcher Perspective – On Origins and Scale

The Witcher 3 released last month to enormous success, the culmination of everything CD Projekt Red had been working on for the past years, ever since they unleashed Geralt of Rivia on the world. Now, The Witcher is household name, but most people don’t know how big it is. For some it’s just a bit of fantasy, just another world. Some know of the novels they’re based on but don’t realise how big they are in their homeland. Continue reading The Witcher Perspective – On Origins and Scale

Free Will is an Illusion – Choices in Games

“But suppose you throw a coin enough times…suppose one day, it lands on its edge.”

“…We each play out the parts fate has written for us. Free will is an illusion”

– Kain, Legacy of Kain

Continue reading Free Will is an Illusion – Choices in Games

Gamer Memory

Gamer Memory is a term that popped into my head the other day and it’s a combination of muscle memory and instant recall we gamers seem to have. Let me explain: Continue reading Gamer Memory