I have been stalking the world of online TCGs (Trading Card Games) for years. Seeing all those pretty little buttons perfectly aligned makes me feel all speshul. Today, for the first time, I actually *joined* one: Sugar&Spice. Doesn't that thing make you very, very hungry all of a sudden? For the occasion, naturally, I have set up a TCG post which I am very looking forward to filling up a bit more. I will however wait a bit before joining more TCGs. I want to test one first.
Archive for the ‘Entertainment’ Category
Now to Become a Card Trader
Sunday, March 15th, 2009Looking for Blogs
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009You'd think someone who has been blogging since 2003, joined a few forums during that time, made friends on the web, etc., would have a good list of blogs to read. I don't. So I want you to give me good blogs to read. After all, I keep reading from other people that they "cleaned [their] Google feed reader, going down from 2578295 feeds to 1784584". That's fun for you, but I can only sit there, jealous that you would have so many interesting things to read.
I don't want the average blog by a girl in her early 20s who talks about her life. I think I already know enough of those. No offense to those I do read, you are awesome, it's just that I'm looking for a different type of blog this time. I'd mostly love topical blogs. I'm interesting in video games (no one who's on a "kill Nintendo" war, please), movies, music, arts and computer/internet stuff (software, design, security, tips, etc.). I am not interested in fashion (unless it's alternative fashion) and celebrity gossip. Oh, blogs about politics or science can also be interesting, provided they're not written by religious nuts. Those would anger me.
Of course, anything funny or involving kittens is also welcome. I'm not only looking for deep, insightful things that will change the course of the universe.
Suggestions both in French and English are welcome.
DragonFable Comments and Resources
Saturday, January 24th, 2009That my AdventureQuest resources post would have a follow up was merely a question of when I would finally get around to sitting down doing it.
So, here we go. Let's talk about DragonFable, another game by Artix Entertainment. Before going into the resources (which you can access by simply scrolling down), I will add a few comments as to why I prefer DragonFable over AdventureQuest.
- Fewer players means that you never have to wait to log in, even if you don't have a paid account (called Dragon Amulets). Just go to the site and log in.
- Being more recent and smaller means the graphics are of better quality. If you fight against some old enemies in AQ (and there are lots of them!), you will see that they usually greatly lack in texture, making them look much more cheap. While DragonFable might not always be a chef d'oeuvre of digital art, the graphics are overall much better.
- The damage formula has changed, making the game far easier and far less frustrating. Easier is not always better but, in this particular case, it is.
So, on with the actual resources. As with AdventureQuest, the forums are definitely the place to go for information. What's great is that most questions are already answered.
- DragonFable Bugs. This is where you will go if something goes wrong. Make sure to check if the bug hasn't been reported first. If it has, you can always post it again so they will know that a) it hasn't been fixed and b) people care.
- DragonFable FAQ and Hot Topics
- DragonFable Game Formulae
- DragonFable Strategy
- Every DF Link You'll Ever Need
- Experience Farming - How to Do It and Where To Go
- Farming Gold - The Best Quests
- Farming Guide (quickly getting experience and / or gold)
- Guide to Doom and Destiny Weapons
- Leveling and Stats Guide
- On Rarity, Rares, Item Drops, Drop Rates, and Sellback Values
- Rare Items - A-Z and Sorted by War
The Encyclopedia is filled with lots of information which can always be useful. Here are a few very useful threads. "A-Z" threads contain a list of equipment, monsters, etc., with links to individual threads about said equipment, monster, etc.
- A-Z Abilities and an Overview of Classes
- A-Z Accessories
- A-Z Armors (your class and abilities are determined by your armor)
- A-Z Belts
- A-Z Helms
- A-Z Houses and Items (Dragon Amulet required)
- A-Z Junk Items
- A-Z Locations, Quests, Wars and Events
- A-Z Monsters
- A-Z Monsters by Weaknesses / Strengths
- A-Z Necklaces
- A-Z NPCs (Non-Playable Characters)
- A-Z of Stackable / Merge Items
- A-Z Pets / Guests / NPCs
- A-Z Quests
- A-Z Rings
- A-Z Shops
- A-Z Stackable / Non-Equippable Items
- A-Z Trinkets (these can only be equipped by people with Dragon Amulets)
- A-Z Wars and Events
- A-Z Weapons
- A-Z Wings and Capes
- Best Weapon for your Level and Class
- Dragon Amulet Only Quests
- DragonFable Quest Guide (includes quests sorted by location)
- Level Requirements of Weapons
- Pets and Guests by Elements and Strength
- Unofficial Monster and Pet Taxonomies
- Weapons Sorted by Powers
This concludes our tour. You are welcome to ask me any questions (regarding the game!) that aren't answered up there.
Game Review: Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst
Thursday, December 4th, 2008When it comes to Hidden Objects games, you can see different "levels". The Low Level is where you mostly look for items for the sake of looking for items. There is a pseudo-story, but it mostly is there for the sake of saying "Hey! We've got a story!". The novelization wouldn't be very popular. The Medium Level is when you do look for items, but there is an interesting story behind it all. Sure, the item search is seldom really story related (what's with all the pretzels?), but there is still something more complete. And, finally, you got Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst.
Gameplay
In terms of gameplay, the game is very similar to the previous games in the Mystery Case Files series. You have to look for items in different locations and solve puzzles to access new areas. There are some differences, however, as the game follows the story more than previous installments of the series: your progress reveals new elements and you actually walk around the manor.
There are different types of puzzles for different tastes. You get the option of skipping puzzles, but that adds to your total time. Some puzzles are particularly frustrating, but which ones you like depends entirely on you, I believe.
Story
The story is interesting. It is not ground-breaking and the ending will probably not have you completely flabbergasted, but compared to the average Hidden Objects game, it was definitely good. As the name hints, it is a sequel (or a prequel, depending on how you look at it) to Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst and adds more to the story present in the original.
Graphics
Another aspect that was good. Some things bug me at times, and the game suffers from the low contrast of any game set in a rather dark environment, but overall the graphics were fine.
Accessibility and Phobia Factor
As I said above, the game will be very hard if you have difficulty looking at very dark screens. Same if you have difficulty concentrating, as some puzzles require you to be very attentive.
Plus, if you suffer from arthritis or, for some other reason, need to take your hand away from the mouse quite often, you might have difficulty with some mini-games, one in particular. Fortunately, they can be skipped.
As for phobias, this game is worse than the average HO game in terms of bugs (the crawling kind), due to its theme. If you are afraid of bugs of any kind and / or of rotting, it might be difficult to make it through the game at times.
Summary
Overall, I think this was a very good game. It was one of the games that make it work to play Hidden Objects games. Actually, it often strays from the genre, as only a small part of the game consists of looking for the hidden objects in a scene.