Tonight - Multicasting!

In addition to Twitch, I'll be streaming to YouTube, SmashCast (formerly Hitbox), and Mixer (formerly Beam.pro). You can find me by looking for Shenanigans1930! I also have a slick chat UI that combines all four channels into one! Hope to see you soon!

ASTA Online - Week 3 - MMOMG

The Fame vs. Level gain mismatch is fairly annoying. A few guild members have essentially parked their characters at or near level 39 and are exclusively farming fame. This changes your play sessions considerably, as you're often just logging in to do events (which are scattered throughout the day).

If I wanted to login and play for a just few minutes at precisely every few hours, I'd play Farmville. If this title was also available as a mobile game, perhaps I'd at least understand the reasoning behind this a little... but it's not.

Of course, you can ignore Fame entirely and just rush to level cap. In the interest of seeing more content and possibly the consequences of my actions, I'm going to do just that this last week. Let's be honest, the majority of MMO players assume that rushing to level cap is the goal anyway. At least I might be able to see what kind of mess you really end up in here by doing so.

Dead In Bermuda - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

A challenging game with a colorful cast and an equally diverse blend of genres.

Dead in Bermuda is what happens when you mix Darkest Dungeon, the Dead of Winter boardgame and the Lost television series all together. A plane crashes on a mysterious island and eight survivors must now find a way out of this mess.

Rafaam Renounced! Tavern Brawl - RNGBS

Rafaam is so much better than Kel'Thuzad this brawl I decided to play with a handicap! Bonus points - I also kept the original Coin the entire game!

ASTA Online - Week 2 - MMOMG

It seems like the problems are starting to pile up for ASTA's relaunch, and I'm uncertain if issues will be addressed in a safe and timely manner. Also, I'm not looking forward to halting my leveling just to play catch up with fame next week. I'm at least glad I learned about the fame thing before getting to 40.

Fairy Song - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

Explore a strange world and discover your purpose in this open-world adventure.

Cavalcade of Brawls! - RNGBS

What happens when previous Tavern Brawls square off against each other? Time to find out!

ASTA Online - Week 1 - MMOMG

My impressions of this title after the first week are only so-so, but I'm remaining positive. It's certainly not the most innovative MMO out there, but it does have a couple of different progression systems (which I'll be going over in the weeks to come).

I Hate To Say This, But...

I TOLD YOU SO.

I feel it's only appropriate to add, "Fix your game, Blizzard!"

StarCraft + Brood War - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

You want a piece of me, boy?

In honor of the new remastered edition, Blizzard has made the original StarCraft and its Brood War expansion available free!

I really don't think there's anything I can say that hasn't already been said about this title. Considering the game is nearly 20 years old and people still enjoy it, I'd say that speaks for itself.

I suppose I can add that the game also received a patch for the first time in about 8 years, mostly to add functionality and support for current systems, which is pretty nice. Anyway, enjoy!

Elementally Challenged! Arena + Rant - RNGBS

This is the most triggering, soul-crushing game of Hearthstone I've ever played. It happened last week in arena, and the full VOD is available in my Twitch highlights.

It turns out that my predictions were true. I was an early naysayer to the "Standard" version of arena, citing that synergy would be too good. Due to arena not having deck restrictions, it would be entirely possible (and now more probable) to draft a deck that was actually better than constructed. Arena has never had deck restrictions, and in the past I've been opposed to even the thought of it. Now, I'm not so sure. Whether it's deck restrictions, more cards on the ban list, reverting to "Wild" arena, or something else entirely, I'm not sure - but something needs to change.

The highlighted game is of course only one of many arena matches I've played since the Un'Goro release. While it's a fairly extreme case of synergy, it's not uncommon to have ridiculous plays. For example, earlier that night an opposing paladin had turn 5 Stand Against Darkness into turn 6 hero power plus Lightfused Stegadon, getting +3 Attack on the adapt. That's +18 damage (15 of which can attack immediately) and a 3/4 beast for 4 mana (6 with the additional hero power). Note that the +3 Attack buff is permanent, making it literally better than Bloodlust here. Keep in mind I'm still talking about arena, where you're largely at the mercy of the draft to determine your success.

The Standard form of Hearthstone arena now is essentially "One-Sided Fist Fights: The Card Game". GG, Blizz.

Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

A classic top-down shooter gets a huge community upgrade!

Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop is an update/upgrade of the classic top-down shooter Alien Swarm. This community-made version comes with a lot of new features (such as 8-player co-op mode) as well as easy mod installation via Steam Workshop.

Reading through the highlighted features, I discovered that the AI of bot teammates has been improved. That's great to hear, but I'd highly recommend playing co-op as much as possible. The bot AI is still very lacking, as they fail to recognize eggs at all and regularly get stuck around corners and doorways. I even had one bot deliberately go out of its way to punch an explosive barrel for no apparent reason.

Bot AI aside, the rest of the game is pretty good. It's actually refreshing to see an older game get what is almost a modern remake and still be absolutely free. Of course, it's also rare to see a project developed by the fan community with official permission to do so. It seems like a win-win for the original developer, as they can pass the work off to the community and look like good guys for doing so.

Anyway, Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop is well worth a look if you're trying to find a fun and free co-op title, especially if you enjoyed the original.

Garrosh, The Friendly Warrior! Tavern Brawl - RNGBS

It seems that the super random Yogg-Saron Tryouts brawl is a great place to make new friends! Check out Garrosh's tips for earning the admiration and respect of others!

HearthArena, We Need To Talk

I've suspected that HearthArena's not been entirely on top of the meta for a while, but seriously, what in the blue hell!? There's no deck I can fathom that would want Bittertide Hydra over Cabalist's Tome.

Just between you and me, HearthArena, I know what this is about. You miss Fel Reaver, I get that. He was a good guy and a lot of people didn't understand him, but you did. Sure, Bittertide Hydra reminds you of him, but they're not the same. I gotta be honest with you, though; Hydra's not the guy you think he is, or even the guy you want him to be. The thing is, Fel Reaver's moved on... and so should you.

WildStar - Week 4 - MMOMG

My final week in WildStar, with pros, cons and my overall impression.

May MMOMG - ASTA

For MMOMG in May, I'm going from a game people mistakenly think is dead (WildStar) to a title that really died and has returned! ASTA Online has resurfaced on Steam, so I'm playing it for May. I'd like to note that my curiosity in ASTA - along with its quick demise in October last year - played a part in encouraging me to start up the MMOMG series in the first place. At least I get to give the title a real look.

As usual, I'll be playing Sundays - Wednesdays starting 8pm ET on Twitch. Today will be an exception though, I'll be streaming much earlier today. Be sure to follow me on Twitter or Twitch to be notified when it begins!