Dungeons 2 first impressions

Developer Realmforge's new game, Dungeons 2, was released on Steam today.  My first couple hours through the campaign were enough to show that it's not so much a sequel as a rework.  Dungeons: The Dark Lord, dubbed a "stand alone expansion" was more in line with a traditional sequel, where a game takes the same mechanics and expands on them.  Dungeons 2, while staying true to the vision of the original, takes a completely different approach to execution.

Hearthstone: Crafting versus card packs for beginners

Blackwing Lair was released today, and with it the new cards to be unlocked from defeating bosses and completing class challenges.  Playing through it got me thinking about the two primary ways of getting new cards in Hearthstone - purchasing packs and crafting.  Writing this, that does seem a bit of a weak connection but it's totally what happened.  I'm sure we've all had the dilemma of deciding whether to craft that card you want right away or waiting to see if it pops up in the next batch of card packs (I suspect a lot of us have been on a pack buying spree too, but that's another story).  Both arcane dust and in-game gold take a while to build up and crafting one card or purchasing one pack makes a pretty major dent.  So which one's better?  The answer may surprise you.

Gul'dan - how the warlock we all love to hate has cast a spell over the Warcraft fanbase

With the latest developments of Warlords of Draenor, Gul'dan has returned to the Warcraft universe as a major villain and for his first primary role in World of Warcraft.  Though I don't play WoW, I follow the story and after watching the cinematic from Patch 6.1 when he assumes control of the Iron Horde, I found myself really excited to see where Blizzard takes the plot surrounding one of my favorite villains.

But this begs the question: why is he so intriguing?  While important for lore reasons - being the one who set the orcs on their path to demonic corruption and invasion of Azeroth, etc. - as a character the first orcish warlock has very little depth.  His desires power simply for power's sake and will sacrifice anything and anyone to get it.  He's a textbook sociopath with exactly zero redeeming or even vaguely sympathetic aspects.

Despite all this, Gul'dan is widely considered one of the best villains in the franchise - why?  What makes the Betrayer of the Orcs such a compelling villain?

Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition - or why I might buy the same game twice

Capcom announced today that Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition will be released June 2015 for Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC. It's interesting to see the company go back to the franchise pre-reboot, especially hot on the heels of DMC: Definitive Edition, which debuted earlier this month.  Normally I don't pay attention to "remastered" releases, even of my favorite games.  However, after seeing the announcement trailer, this game should be cited as an example of a "special edition" done right.

Come into my parlor said the spider to the hero - thoughts on Tomb of the Spider Queen

As many League of Legends players will tell you, when any online game has several maps or modes available, queue times will naturally be longer or shorter as maps fall in and out of favor with the player-base.  Anyone looking for a good game on Twisted Treeline or Dominion can attest to that (self included).  Eventually, even those who like the less popular maps will give up because it simply takes too damn long to find a game.  Blizzard got around this by taking out the element of choice and making each game take place on a random battleground.  While this approach presumably allows Heroes of the Storm to have a great deal more maps and game modes than its competition, it brings its own set of limitations.

Heroes of the Dorm - or Blizzard Hunger Games

Maybe no one's going to die, but for the final contestants the prize may well be your life.  And what will participating cost all the rest who don't even get close?

Thoughts on Overwatch and what it means for MOBAs

I'm sure the title has you confused - Overwatch, while certainly taking some MOBA aspects, is still very much a first person shooter.  Or is it?  Up until recently, I had spared little thought for Blizzard's upcoming shooter, having been obsessively following the development of their other project, Heroes of the Storm.  Thanks to a Founders' Pack, I'm now in the Heroes beta, and the tunnel vision seems to have cleared somewhat.  So when Blizzard announced this past weekend at PAX East that the Overwatch beta was slated for Fall 2015, it seemed like a good time to take a look at their first new franchise in 17 years.