George Something...

Hello and welcome to another thrilling George something... 

This is my first post since we decided to resurrect the 3crows. So what have I been up to since my last post over a year ago... well not a great deal other than the usual converting oxygen to carbon dioxide, but myself and Mr Rich have been on a little vacation to the year 3050 and become pilots otherwise known as MechWarriors and stomped our way through a strange futuristic universe piloting giant heavily armoured combat platforms known as BattleMechs.

Now there's a Dragon St George would have trouble slaying...

Now for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm jabbering on about MechWarrior Online the new Free2play game under development by Piranha Games and published by Infinite Game Publishing.

So what is MechWarrior Online? Well its the latest instalment of the MechWarrior series of games which is based upon the fictional universe BattleTech, which in turn is a futuristic table top war gaming franchise created by FASA Corporation. 

 Battletech Atlas Model, looks small here but on the battlefield weighing in at 100 tonnes this formidable titan will squish most things faster than you can say BARBOORA!!!! 

Now BattleTech is a dice rolling tabletop game similar to the WarHammer Series by Games Workshop even though I'm sure fans of either franchise will hate me for saying so and the universe which it is portraying has a rich, complex history which has led to a very interesting way of developing the game.

Now what makes MechWarrior Online interesting compared to other titles that are based upon tabletop franchises?

As it is in real-time. So a real day here is a real day in game. So today which is 28th of January 2013 is 28th of January 3050, which means that what ever happened in the battletech universe on today's date means it will happen in game or on MWO forums on today's date.

Now the actual game is a first person (like all MechWarrior titles) tactical mech sim which allows you to buy and create battlemechs and play in teams against other users battlemechs in a few different game modes. The game is in open Beta at the moment so there is only a couple of modes available, Assault and Conquest but the developers are releasing updates adding new game modes, maps and mechs quite frequently and have very high expectations before the product goes gold.
The engine that drives this game is the Crytek3 engine which I have to say looks gorgeous and is really immersive, making you feel like your actually on the battlefield controlling 100 tonnes of death rather than sat in your pants eating cornflakes at 4am trying to juggle a spoon and mouse.

Atlas in MWO bit bigger than its tabletop variant. So much so we later found the table cowering in the woods just out of shot.
 

I don't want to go too deep into this game at present because I think Mr Rich wants to write something and possibly the Crows will do a podcast of some description on this title over the coming weeks. So for the time being all I can say is get it, download it, it is F2P so what's to lose other than your arms or torso in the first few matches you play.

 

Be warned however; It is a bit of a steep learning curve when first starting out and can be a bit daunting. The game itself isn't brilliant at giving any information about how to pilot or create the mechs themselves, but with an awesome following, the forums are packed with noobie help, tips and tricks and some great beginner guides on the Youtube they have these days.

So I'll leave you guys now to carry on eating your cornflakes mechless and hopefully next time we speak I'll see you on the battlefield with your mecha Streisand screaming Barboora!!!

George

 

BARBOOORAAAAHHHHH! 

Simon Says...

Well it's all going rather well isn't it?!

It's all back, the site is looking rather tidy and everything is motion, with 2 new guest writers, welcome, and the other 2 crows working hard in the background, making corporate decisions, hiring and perspiring.

If you like what we have so far but think something is missing we would like to know, so feel free to comment on any aspect!

Right, that's quite enough of being so nice about things, I've been off my game for far too long, and it's obviously ruined my angsty ways of tearing something down and reconstructing it sarcastically. So, what have I brought to the laboratory this week?



Far Cry 3.

That's right. That really good game. That didn't break ground, but was a good all rounder.

I'm not here to sully it's good name, or give away any spoilers, it's worthy of the 10/10 it got, but...

I am here to ask, did it? Did it really do that well?

I remember liking it from what I played a few weeks ago... ...uh huh... ...weeks... ...That's it's first problem for me. I lost interest. I didn't get in to it. I felt the plot was missing something compelling. You were thrown into the action so fast, and without any desire or aspiration or even compulsion from the build up. The buildup being a 2 min unskippable cut scene of youths enjoying a holiday of drinking, tits and skydiving.
Then it going all wrong and them being captured by some kind of village bandits ran by one of the best, scariest, darkest characters I think I've ever seen in a game...



But this happens a lot, and not just to me, most of the people I know that have played Far Cry 3 have said the same thing, it's great, but I lost interest about half way through.

For me, personally, I found it to lack commitment. One moment I am introduced as a scared, naive and inexperienced holidaying twenty-something that has wound up a hostage. The next moment, i am wielding 4 large weapons holstered in fine tiger skin pouches i made after conquering half an island unaided... ...oh, no, wait. I was aided. Once.

That's my second gripe: The game has 'friendly' NPC's. That always turn up when you no longer need them. FC3 will see you stealth your way round an heavily defended enemy encampment as well as it will let you 'Rambo' your way through it... ...alone.

When the first encampment is introduced as a gameplay mechanic you take it as part of a team, clearing it, primarily by yourself however as the AI is less than shall we say, good. But regardless you feel aided, secure in the knowledge you can use that ally as a distraction at least. But then once conquered. You face the subsequent 200 odd encampments alone. This taught me 2 things, 1, that you can't trust anyone, not even the blue team... and 2, that the developers are still lazy. Something Far Cry 2 suffered from terribly.

You might argue that having a team with you all the time is silly, well, I would argue that flamethrowering a tiger in the face, then harvesting it's fur for a rucksack to carry more explosive arrows is silly, but then who am I to question the games ethics.



But a cut scene to introduce them, once you say 'Start' the invasion, would be cool, like even if you pulled out a radio to call for backup, in fact, that would've been useful in many situations! They should make it so.

Overall the game is pretty much flawless I have to be honest, it plays well, the menus are clunky and slow to load, but make sense, the plot is weak but improves and is succinct and not a dominating feature of the game. The graphics are stupendous for it's scale and the gameplay is varied for a repetitive action game genre. There is a lot of replay value but the game taxes itself in that area by being so long and somewhat repetitive, that you probably wouldn't wanna jump back in after finishing it put it that way.

It's one of those games that you'll remember being better than it was, that you'll likely not finish, or go back to, which is a shame, but it is good, just not amazing, so close, yet so far. I really wanted to enjoy this game more than I did, and I think deep down I am blaming that on the multiplayer more than the single player.

It was stale, unoriginal, and once again lazy. The 'Co-Op' is a term I would use loosely to describe this. It was custom designed missions for up to 4 players, the first of which you could do blindfolded riding a quad bike through a supermarket's games section with your dick between your legs shouting at the old ladies in the way that your tail is cold; But immediately after that, if you are anything like me, and only have 1 friend, you will find it very, very hard to finish the rest. [No bonus points if you're sat reading this and thinking 'But I did it all alone']



So to sum it up, because this rant has ran on, and isn't that interesting, it's ok, totally worth the money, completely well made and thoroughly impressive on all formats. But it's crap, missed a whole bunch of stuff that would've taken it beyond incredible and into the history books, and you'll sit talking about it with your mates for about 10 minutes before you realise you all did the same things in different order.

Take it or leave it, I'm out.

Si Tye.

Elizabeth Talketh...

Developers can learn from ArenaNet learning from their players.

2012 was difficult year for the MMOs, with over-hyped and under delivering Star Wars: The Old Republic being the latest addition to a growing list of games to drop the subscription and go free-to-play. But Guild Wars 2, released in August, has amassed an impressive collection of awards and  rapidly growing login numbers, even into the first quarter of 2013.

Guild Wars 2 is free to play and supports itself with microtransactions for items of convenience and cosmetic enhancements (pets, costumes,  boosts).  I will freely admit that since release I have spent more on pretty things and convenience than I would have done on a subscription fee. So what are ArenaNet doing right where so many other titles have crumbled? Quite simply, the players own the game that they have bought. The developers listen.

Naturally, upon release, the game had its share of bugs and was never going to have the scope of the Blizzard behemoth with eight years of refinement and expansions under its belt. But we persevered. The developers regularly engaged with the community about the fixes and adjustments that were required, the fixes were implemented and the adjustments made. ArenaNet humbly acknowledged its own mistakes, where they had been made. Being a long-time Guild Wars 1 player I had no doubts that ArenaNet would continue to release and implement content on a regular basis; what astonished me was the rate at which this happened. October saw a massive Halloween festival that went way above and beyond the scope of anything I had seen before in Tyria, with spooky decorations flying up all over the cities, kids in costumes, new quests, items, impossibly complicated puzzles and monsters. 

The very next month our peaceful November at the beach was interrupted by an invasion of crazy-ass sea monsters called Karka, which really dampened our day. We geared up and headed out to the brand new island in search of vengeance, glory and phat lewt.

These events did not come without their own share of new problems both technically and in gameplay (mostly based around time limits and difficulty level). Mistakes were not repeated. The brief 4-day participation period for Halloween became a three weeks event on Wintersday to give players the freedom to choose which parts of the festival they wanted to participate in during December. We were able to get the achievements, titles and unique weapon skins on our own schedule. One-time events were done away with, eliminating the dreaded lag-fest zerg-party and associated disconnects. Furthermore, the over complex and infuriatingly complicated puzzles were mellowed out and developed with multiple tracks of varying difficulty – with the same reward.  

The upcoming January patch preceeds the long awaited culling fix, changes to the dungeons, expansion and new additions to the open world and PVP arenas,  both team based and World vs World. Rather than this “new content” running the risk of introducing more grind to an already grindy genre, the announced changes to Fractals dungeons will remove some barriers to participation – level requirements.

The dialogue between ArenaNet and players reveals a strong level of devotion and investment on both sides that within a few years will have created a world that will far surpass its predecessors in terms of community cohesion, scope and accessibility.  And if it still isn’t what you want from a game? Check back in a few months. The evolution is rapid and doesn’t cost the players a penny.

I can poach livestock, that’s all I really need out of my games…

[''Size of that cock...'' SiTye]

 

Elizabeth Talketh

Jamie Jabbers...

So, it’s Tuesday, early evening, and in all honesty I should be revising for a psychology exam that I have tomorrow afternoon.

Instead, I’m asked by long term heterosexual life partner Si Tye; if I would like to write something for him, anything….and I accept.

Obviously I accept because you are now reading the words of my labour, have nothing better to do, ay??

Anyways… ...You may be thinking, who is this guy??

Understandable; and I always make it a point to answer that question quickly and truthfully, especially when there is screaming involved and sharp objects aimed at points of extreme interest on my body.

My name is Jamie Forse (Yeah, that is my surname, and NO, I haven’t heard THAT joke before) and as I have already said, I’m good friends with Simon. And Rich. And George for that matter.

Now that the pleasantries have been dispensed I shall continue….So, asked to write something by the “Tyemonator” (What do you think? Just came up with that gem, it’s a keeper, right?!?) And I’m excited because it gives me an excuse to try out my new computer. Finally, something more fulfilling than looking at grumpy cats. And watching videos of people who try to lower their already piss poor IQ by thinking that jumping off a roof head first is a great thing to film. In all fairness, they are right. More interesting than this though is Dead Space 3.



If you don’t think that’s interesting though, I suggest you stop reading, and maybe drop yourself down a lift shaft. Or at least cry because everyone thinks you are fat, and you have bad breath. Your choice really.

But seriously, literally just finished playing the Dead Space 3 demo on the Xbox. And I enjoyed it. More of the same really, but I was a happy camper with the last two games so in my eyes it’s doing nothing wrong. I wasn’t able to try the co-op unfortunately so I can’t remark on that. The attention to detail is still bang on and the graphics look nice; the ice planet Tau Volantis looks stunning and some of the back drops are crazy cool. I also got to see some of the new necromorphs, which are pretty cool, and they are very much consistent with the earlier types which give it a nice feeling of continuity.



Although there were some things, that I shall not name or mention, that wouldn’t go amiss in lost planet. And there were other humans. Trying to shoot Isaac. He is the unluckiest bastard in computer game history, I swear. I didn’t like the sound of that at first, but the few battles they were involved in added some excitement once the necromorphs turned up. And of course, it ended just as my simple mind started to forget that it was a demo. But there is a weapon creator section where you can test out anything that your imagination can muster up to rip limps and blister flesh (there are limitations though, of course).



I am looking forward to more though, and I hope to have a friend who wants to play co-op as I have heard interesting things about playing it with someone else. Time to dig out Dead Space 2 I think…There we have it. That is literally all I have done today. I kid you not. It was fun but the sharp slap of reality straight after playing it brought me to my knees like a well swung size 10 to the gunt. And then I realised I’m starving and need to empty my bladder before piss starts squirting outta my ears, that’s how bad I needed to go. If you got this far, well done. You could have got away with just skimming, or ignoring it all together, but you didn’t. Thanks for reading. I salute you!!



Jamie 'Jabbers' Forse

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

It's Official!



...And we've brought something with us; it doesn't fly, it doesn't squat in the mud, it isn't particularly hairy and it does like a good videogame as much as we do.

It's called a Jamie, and it scared us to begin with as it's a rather unpredictable and dangerous substance but we have tamed it, trained it and given it a page. So please help us make him feel welcome, as he will be joining the writing crew and reviewing crew on a full time basis.

We will also be hosting a series of guest writers in the near future. With weekly posts and some midweek madness to keep you busy while we work on our new videos and come up with a production schedule to bring you grade A, HD game porn pushed into your eyes through the wizardry of the internet.

If you dont like it, we wanna know why, so feel free to comment, like, dislike again or email us. We even have an ever increasingly busy facebook page (search 3 Crows Studio) to join in the fun... ...I mean even today there's a 55% off deal on like 20 games brought to you by our friends at Paradox. Pretty cool huh?

Yeah. Dont say we never give you anything.

Thursday I will personally be overseeing the creation of some stickers for you fanboys/girls to get for free, Friday I (si tye) am hosting a 24 hour gaming session for charity and tshirts are going to be printed as soon as we can afford them (we do this shit for free at the moment you know!)

So belt up, sit back, and watch this space!

Wakey wakey rise and shine...

Holy hell that was a long break, well over 2 years. Jeez.

Well we are back, sort of, we are working on coming back, and in a big way. It really has been too long and this site has crumbled to dust  so we done gone made a new one...

It's not ready yet, but there is a sneak peak if you fancy a look...

http://simon3crowsstudio.wix.com/3crowsstudio