Idiotcat and Tekken Tag Tournament 2

Hello!

I haven't done a blog post for Gameolio yet, so here I am. Phuong/Idiotcat/Kitty here. I'm not too sure what to post as my first post here, but it will be game related! I guess we can start with what I've been playing recently. The most interesting is probably Tekken Tag Tournament 2.

As I mentioned in the latest podcast/video cast of Gameolio, I recently bought a Qanba RAF 4 arcade stick so I could finally play fighting games on PS3. I already have a TE arcade stick, but it only works for XboX (which I don't have funnily enough) and PC. I was using it to play Street Fighter on PC at the time, but I wanted to be able to play Tekken Tag 2 with my boyfriend so I bought a new one. I am no way a hardcore fighting game enthusiast, I just love fighting games but hate playing them on pad. There are some pro players who can do it and I just do not know how. I got the edition of Tekken Tag 2 with the artbook and soundtracks and stuff and ugh... both are just so amazing! The soundtrack freaking rocks so hard. I'll link a couple of good tracks, but my favourite tracks have to be the school stage and the end stages of the arcade mode. Such good remixes!

I would also like to mention I suck at playing fighting games and get super salty, but I still love them to bits. I get super self conscious playing fighting games and I am really intimidated by the community. I think it's less about it being a male dominated community and more the fact that it's a huge trash talking community. I know most of the time it's all in good fun, but it gets serious and horrible sometimes. I just don't like that kind of thing. I know it s a huge part of online/multiplayer games, but trash talking is just annoying to me. Really, you're winning and you have add insult to injury? You're losing so you have to make it worse by insulting the other player? Really? Come on.

Guess I'm just not that kind of person. I like fighting games and would love to get good at them, but I just want to be good at them for me. I don't want to get good so I can beat other people, but it's seems like the community is all about that, at least the majority is. Although I guess this is coming from someone who kind of observes from the outside. I watch streams and stuff and know some big players, but that's about it.

I think I also get really self conscious about doing well because I'm a girl. I get hyper aware that I'm a girl playing games the girls don't usually play and feel this weird pressure that I have to do well just because I'm a girl and I have to prove myself. Which is stupid because I'm a person who thinks you can love and play whatever type of game however you want regardless of gender. But when I start up a fighting game and hold the arcade stick in my hand and get ready to attempt combos this huge pressure presses down on me and crushes my confidence. Hmm... I might have just described the feeling players get in tournaments. Except I get that feeling normally when I'm playing at home or at the arcades. Argh.

Anyways, that's enough from me for now. If anyone is involved with the fighting game community I'd love to hear from you- feel free correct me or whatever. Hah. Oh yes, I play Jaycee and Zafina, if anyone was wondering!

- Kitty

Celebrating Eight Years of World of Warcraft

While I have only been celebrating about 4 years of World of Warcraft (and at times, cursing) it has certainly had a huge impact on my gaming life. It has brought with it just about every emotion (tears of pain!) one can experience in a game and then some, but has been coupled with an immense amount of fun and challenge. And while there seem to be many people waiting for WoW to go free to play or just flat-out end, the subscription base still appears very (ridiculously) strong and doesn't look to be dipping too far anytime soon. So here's to you World of Warcraft and let's all take a trip through time with Blizzard's latest WoW video celebrating 8 years of the biggest MMORPG thus far.

Dan Plays Guild Wars 2 - Head Start

Dan, from Gameolio, finally gets to load into the world of Guild Wars 2. Surprise, surprise he  chose to play as a warrior.

The Rocket-Seeking Space Marine

Rocket-Seeking Space Marine: new and improved!

The Co-Op Chronicles: Battlefield 3 - 'Caspian Border Crazy'

Rich and Dan co-op through some Battlefield 3 multiplay. Sometimes resulting in carnage, often resulting in failure, mostly resulting in fun. Enjoy!

Jump onto our Youtube channel for more Gameolio videos: http://youtube.com/gameolio

The Old Republic: Dabbling in the Dunes of Tatooine

Oh Star Wars.

Star Wars The Old Republic had, for quite a long time, been that special project I kept an eye on while tackling boss fights in the World of Warcraft. Vanquishing foes with a lightsaber, over one of the metallic flavour, has been a longtime childhood fantasy. So SWTOR finally releases and I get my chance to dabble in the Force.

And for the most part I found the earlier questing areas forgetable. Not to say that I didn't have some fun, but gameplay wise it's quite familiar and nothing altogether new. I'll certainly admit that the crafting within SWTOR is refreshing. Being able to send your companions off to do your creation and gathering is welcome, as you can set this up parallel to your own questing. But in essence, if you are after a Star Wars themed World of Warcraft, then this may be the game for you.

However, this isn't the real reason for my posting. What I wanted to share with you, was my experience on first exploring and roaming around the planet Tatooine. An iconic planet, where many scenes play out in the films, full of sand, Jawas, Sand-People and Cantinas. While there are many quests to fulfill in the area, I found the most fun in just travelling around the areas on my vehicle and looking to locations in the distance. A far off Sand Crawler, or a cave in the distance. Heck even, just standing on the top of a sand dune and seeing the two suns in the background.

It's quite beautiful. Each screenshot I took looked prettier then the last, in fact I might actually make one of these a backdrop to my desktop. While I have certainly experienced other planets, this the first one that I actually look forward to spending more time in. 

This is perhaps one of the draws for me in an MMO. Sure it's great to have people along for the ride, but it's just as fun to explore an expansive desolate world and perhaps stumble across something less discovered by the rest of the population, if only by accident.

Do you have any fun exploration tales to tell, from SWTOR or any other MMO? I'm very interested in hearing about the less seen locations, places and areas out there. 

Binary Domain - Expected that, I did not

Strange.

I had loaded into Binary Domain previously and was almost instantly put off by the familiarity I had with the Gears of War series. Not to say that I have a hatred for Gears, but after three bouts at the Locusts and pals I am enjoying a needed rest from that series, for awhile (if they do continue it on in someway - I'm sure some believe this to be obvious). So there I was rolling, tumbling and taking cover as I had done many a time before when the enemy presented itself.

Oh no! Robots! Yes, robots. Robots coming at you from all directions and in various forms. Wave after wave, with all their mechanical bits being littered on that rain-drenched battlefield. Oh, and there was also some early 'voice acting' thrown in between your partner and yourself. He says "A'ight" a lot and, well, generally acts a lot like 'Cole Train' did in Gears.

So, yeah, on the surface I wasn't too impressed and pretty much dropped my controller soon afterwards (I was asleep). But something magical happened the next time I, reluctantly, decided to pop the game disc back into the Xbox. Japan happened. I paid a little more attention to what was happening on screen the second time round and noticed that I was in Japan. I don't know what it is exactly about Japan, but for some strange reason anytime there is a movie on TV from that country I can't help but sit through the bulk of the film before I wonder what it is I am watching. It's not so much what is going on screen that fascinates me, but the background and landscapes. Whatever it was, I was hooked.

I forgot the initial concerns I had with the game and just rode through to a point where those previous annoyances were stupid in retrospect. I adjusted the sensitivity slightly and the control scheme was solid. The acting, while a little rough to begin with, seemed to get better as it went along. The main character, Dan, I would describe as part Mal Reynolds or Han Solo mixed together with a generic heroic character, but regardless of how accurate that is, mostly enjoyable. The action itself, consists of blowing up robots (with your guns no less), but the way in which this is accomplished resembles an almost Dead Space style of dismemberment - naturally not as gory, but quite fun nonetheless. Sure, there were elements we've all seen before, but it is a credit to, creator, Toshihiro Nagoshi and his developers to combine all of these parts together and provide an entertaining nine hours (single player component) of pure fun.

This isn't a review as such, I just wanted to jot down my experience after finishing this title. The game certainly has some faults, but I was just amazed at how much it turned my initial perspective, on the game, on its head and pulled me through a bloody fun gaming experience.

Have you ever had a similar experience? With Binary Domain or any other game you've almost instantly dismissed only to be surprised at a later date?

Dan N.

The Gameolio Podcast #47: PS Vita, Reckoning, Unplayed Games

The whole crew are back! We discuss Playstation Vita, Reckoning and Rich reveals his long list of mostly-unplayed games. Haven also talks about the Hong Kong gaming scene.

• Ai-Phuong talks PS Vita release and snazzy new handheld
• Haven discusses the Hong Kong video-game scene
• Rich reveals his list of mostly unplayed games (shock!)
• Dan is mostly sick

  

Special thank you to Dan-O for providing awesome music from his website: http://www.danosongs.com

Like what you hear? Head over to http://www.gameolio.com for reviews from our hosts, or join our community on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gameolio/143731472009?v=app_2373072738 

You can also contact us at gameolio at gameolio dot com

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