STRGamer Codcast - Episode 17

The STRGamer Codcast is a place for intelligent discussion about video games and games of all kinds. And pirates. Each week we bring you news from the games industry and analysis of industry trends, so you can get your fix of gaming news and opinions without having to troll the internet looking for stories (that's our job).

This week we talk about LOTRO, Rock Band, Civ 5, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, FIFA 2012, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and more!

Isengard.LOTRO.com

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STRGamer Codcast - Episode 16

The STRGamer Codcast is a place for intelligent discussion about video games and games of all kinds. And pirates. Each week we bring you news from the games industry and analysis of industry trends, so you can get your fix of gaming news and opinions without having to troll the internet looking for stories (that's our job).

This week we talk about Deus Ex: Human Revolution, LOTRO, League of Legends, Warhammer Online, Forza 3, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Vanguard, Star Trek Online, L.A. Noire, Aika, Star Wars: The Old Republic, new releases, and more!

LeagueofLegends.com

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STRGamer Codcast - Episode 15

The STRGamer Codcast is a place for intelligent discussion about video games and games of all kinds. And pirates. Each week we bring you news from the games industry and analysis of industry trends, so you can get your fix of gaming news and opinions without having to troll the internet looking for stories (that's our job).

This week we talk about Deus Ex: Human Revolution, LOTRO, Age of Empires Online, The Witcher, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Aika, gamescom, PAX, and more!

DeusEx.com

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STRGamer Codcast - Episode 14

The STRGamer Codcast is a place for intelligent discussion about video games and games of all kinds. And pirates. Each week we bring you news from the games industry and analysis of industry trends, so you can get your fix of gaming news and opinions without having to troll the internet looking for stories (that's our job).

This week we talk about The Witcher, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Lumines 2, Dungeon Siege PSP, Pirates!, Vanguard, Bastion, Trenched, Team Fortress 2, Kard Combat, LOTRO, 3DS price drop, Wii U, and more!

STRGamer.blogspot.com

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STRGamer Codcast - Episode 13

The STRGamer Codcast is a place for intelligent discussion about video games and games of all kinds. And pirates. Each week we bring you news from the games industry and analysis of industry trends, so you can get your fix of gaming news and opinions without having to troll the internet looking for stories (that's our job).

This week we talk about Bastion, Puerto Rico, Team Fortress 2, LittleBigPlanet PSP, Disgaea, Lumines 2, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, The Witcher, Vanguard, and more!

VG247.com

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STRGamer Codcast - Episode 12

The STRGamer Codcast is a place for intelligent discussion about video games and games of all kinds. And pirates. Each week we bring you news from the games industry and analysis of industry trends, so you can get your fix of gaming news and opinions without having to troll the internet looking for stories (that's our job).

This week we talk about Call of Juarez: The Cartel, Team Fortress 2, Bastion, Rock Band, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, LOTRO, Catherine, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Comic-Con, and more!

SupergiantGames.com

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STRGamer Codcast - Episode 11

The STRGamer Codcast is a place for intelligent discussion about video games and games of all kinds. And pirates. Each week we bring you news from the games industry and analysis of industry trends, so you can get your fix of gaming news and opinions without having to troll the internet looking for stories (that's our job).

This week we talk about Tiny Tower, LittleBigPlanet PSP, LocoRoco, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, God of War: Chains of Olympus, Half-Minute Hero, Crysis 2, Video Game Journalism, and more!

RealGamer.net

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STRGamer Codcast - Episode 10

The STRGamer Codcast is a place for intelligent discussion about video games and games of all kinds. And pirates. Each week we bring you news from the games industry and analysis of industry trends, so you can get your fix of gaming news and opinions without having to troll the internet looking for stories (that's our job).

This week we talk about The Witcher, Risen, Cyberpunk, Assassin's Creed 2, Steam Summer Sale, Red Alert, Baseball Superstars 2011, Torchlight 2, Diablo 3, Bastion, XBLA Summer of Arcade, Mortal Kombat, Guild Wars 2, BlizzCon, WoW, The Secret World, LOTRO, Rift, Social Media Integration, and more!

Torchlight2Game.com

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STRGamer Codcast - Episode 9

The STRGamer Codcast is a place for intelligent discussion about video games and games of all kinds. And pirates. Each week we bring you news from the games industry and analysis of industry trends, so you can get your fix of gaming news and opinions without having to troll the internet looking for stories (that's our job).

This week we talk about Baseball Superstars, Death Rally, COD: Black Ops, COD: Elite, Rift, DDO, Age of Conan, Consolification, Rod Stewart, Witcher Lion Bars, and more!

AgeofConan.com

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STRGamer Codcast - Episode 8

The STRGamer Codcast is a place for intelligent discussion about video games and games of all kinds. And pirates. Each week we bring you news from the games industry and analysis of industry trends, so you can get your fix of gaming news and opinions without having to troll the internet looking for stories (that's our job).

This week we talk about Trenched, F.3.A.R., Shadows of the Damned, COD: Black Ops, Out of the Park Baseball 11, FIFA Manager 11, DDO, Dungeon Siege III, Duke Nukem Forever, Alice: Madness Returns, Rift, PS Vita, EA Origin, and more!

TrenchedGame.com

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STRGamer Codcast - Episode 7

The STRGamer Codcast is a place for intelligent discussion about video games and games of all kinds. And pirates. Each week we bring you news from the games industry and analysis of industry trends, so you can get your fix of gaming news and opinions without having to troll the internet looking for stories (that's our job).

This week we talk about E3, Bioshock Infinite, Mass Effect 3, Kinect, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, LOTRO: Rise of Isengard, Skyrim, Uncharted 3, Halo 4, Duke Nukem Forever, Neverwinter, TERA, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, Wii U, Playstation Vita, and more!

BioshockInfinite.com

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STRGamer Codcast - Episode 6

The STRGamer Codcast is a place for intelligent discussion about video games and games of all kinds. And pirates. Each week we bring you news from the games industry and analysis of industry trends, so you can get your fix of gaming news and opinions without having to troll the internet looking for stories (that's our job).

This week we talk about Halo: Reach, Mortal Kombat, DDO, Age of Conan, D&D: Daggerdale, Soul Calibur IV, Chaos Overlords, Super Stickman Golf, Super Street Fighter 4, Dirt 3, racing sims, and more!

GamerInvestments.com

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STRGamer Codcast - Episode 5

The STRGamer Codcast is a place for intelligent discussion about video games and games of all kinds. And pirates. Each week we bring you news from the games industry and analysis of industry trends, so you can get your fix of gaming news and opinions without having to troll the internet looking for stories (that's our job).

This week we talk about L.A. Noire, DDO, Rift, Age of Conan, Mortal Kombat, The Witcher, Rock Band 3, MotionScan, Guild Wars 2, and more!

RockstarGames.com

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STRGamer Codcast - Episode 4

The STRGamer Codcast is a place for intelligent discussion about video games and games of all kinds. And pirates. Each week we bring you news from the games industry and analysis of industry trends, so you can get your fix of gaming news and opinions without having to troll the internet looking for stories (that's our job).

This week we talk about Dragon Age: Origins, Dungeon Raid, Army of Darkness Defense, LOTRO, DDO, Bulletstorm, all things MMO, and more!

LOTRO.com

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STRGamer Codcast - Episode 3

The STRGamer Codcast is a place for intelligent discussion about video games and games of all kinds. And pirates. Each week we bring you news from the games industry and analysis of industry trends, so you can get your fix of gaming news and opinions without having to troll the internet looking for stories (that's our job).

This week we talk about Dragon Age: Origins, Castle, Dragon Age 2, Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions, the IGN/UGO merger, Mass Effect 2, Skyrim, our E3 predictions, and more!

DragonAge.Bioware.com

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STRGamer Codcast - Episode 2

The STRGamer Codcast is a place for intelligent discussion about video games and games of all kinds. And pirates. Each week we bring you news from the games industry and analysis of industry trends, so you can get your fix of gaming news and opinions without having to troll the internet looking for stories (that's our job).

This week we talk about Portal 2, Mortal Kombat, Rift, Dungeon Siege 3, Dragon Age 2, Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions, Wii 2, and more!

Gamemunition.com

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Dragon Age II Review

Bioware has a knack for creating game worlds and stories that have the potential to grab your interest for tens to hundreds of hours. Following in the tradition of franchises like Baldur's Gate, Knights of the Old Republic - and more recently, Mass Effect and Dragon Age - Dragon Age II continues the company's outstanding record of rich storytelling and engaging gameplay, albeit with some issues that hold it back from being a perfect title.

Rather than being a chronological sequel, Dragon Age II starts out within the same timeline as Dragon Age, and carries on past the original game's conclusion. You play as Hawke, a survivor from the Battle for Ostagar in the first game, who is fleeing from Ferelden with his family to the nearby city of Kirkwall in the Free Marches. The story is told within a framed narrative, meaning that one of your companions, the wry dwarf thief Varric, is relating the events of the game to a third party as you play through them, providing a sort of larger context for what you're doing.

DragonAge.Bioware.com

The choice for a framed narrative is an interesting one and different from the previous game, much like many other decisions Bioware has made for Dragon Age II. The story that is being told is way smaller in scope than that it Dragon Age, taking place mostly within and around Kirkwall, rather than across an entire country at war with every monster ever. It's still very engaging and epic, but very different. Similarly, the art style that the game's developers have gone with is much more stylized - and dare we say, better - than the first game, looking much more clean, colorful and polished. The Bioware team seems to have been super self-reflective about the critiques of the first game's art; one of the NPC conversations we've heard in-game has a Ferelden refugee telling another something like, "I'm so glad we've left Ferelden for Kirkwall - it was so drab and brown!"

The RPG and combat elements have likewise been changed and feel much more streamlined and action-packed. Rather than having a number of races and classes to choose from, you can either be a female or male human warrior, rogue, or mage, with several unlockable class sub-specializations. The same radial menu and quick slot action bar exist with some refinements to make them better organized, and the level up system has been simplified to basic progression trees that help you to better plan out your character's projected badassery. Probably the coolest addition to the combat system itself are the new skills and the way that they're presented; I swear I geekgasmed when my rogue Hawke did a backstab for the first time, teleporting through a haze of black smoke to appear behind some noob monster to lay the smack down. More like darksPWN, amirite?!@!

DragonAge.Bioware.com

It should also be mentioned that if you're playing on PC, Dragon Age II no longer supports a full isometric view, only pulling back to a mostly over-the-shoulder viewpoint. This change fully supports the game's vision as an Action RPG, rather than a traditional RPG with strategic elements like in Baldur's Gate or even the first Dragon Age.

The story is fantastically told, and with some few exceptions, is one of the most engaging parts of the game. True to Bioware's canon, Dragon Age II's story is complex and gratifying, getting you involved in the different aspects of the political intrigue within Kirkwall and motivating you to help each of your (mostly) likeable companions with their own quests to further your relationships and potential romances with them. Your party members' personalities are all very three dimensional and easy to relate to, and continually chatter and bicker with each other when you're gallivanting about Kirkwall, which can be hilarious and provides some great backstory about the world and your companions themselves (some of whom will be familiar from the first game). In addition, Bioware has implemented the Mass Effect-style dialogue wheel to streamline the various conversation options when you're talking to people, and it works very well to help you figure out what Hawke (who's not mute like your character in the original game) is going to say. Pro-tip: pick the neutral "funny" dialogue option whenever possible if you appreciate sarcasm!

DragonAge.Bioware.com

If most of this sounds like a great improvement over the first game and a streamlining of its features to be more fun and action-oriented, that's because it it is, which is both a blessing and a caveat. Having played through the entire 40+ hour campaign of the first game and loving it, we can definitely say Dragon Age II is even more fun, but sometimes feels like an upgrade and reimagining of the style of Dragon Age rather than a true sequel. This is especially apparent in certain combat situations and quest scenarios, where you'll plan out some strategies for your character and party members, completely waste the baddies in a room, and a bunch more of them will drop from the ceiling or spawn around you. Equally frustrating is how many of the side quests will take you to the same locations or what look to be similar caves to clear out, which can be very repetitive. Why not figure out a better solution to mob spawning, instead of sending wave after wave of enemies in inconsistent ways? Or create a better variety of locales to explore?

We suspect that although Dragon Age II was most likely in development before the release of Dragon Age, the fact that this game came out only a year after the original game may have a lot to do with why it feels somewhat unpolished. We can understand this, but it largely contributes to Dragon Age II not feeling like a complete sequel and preventing it from being a 10/10 game.

DragonAge.Bioware.com

Dragon Age II also has a considerable difficulty spike towards the end of the game, which may require you to try different strategies with your party to succeed. This isn't annoying by itself, and it encourages you to experiment with different characters and skills. Still, the game's long load times can make repeating battles frustrating, especially if you don't have a recent save (hint: save all the time).

Still, if you're a fan of the Dragon Age mythos and are looking for more of the engaging story and companion relationships that only Bioware knows how to create, you'll likely love Dragon Age II. The action-y combat is really satisfying, and the stylized art style is much easier on the eyes than the first game. Additionally, if you haven't played the original, it's worth playing through to understand the full backstory of the world. After you do, you can import your Dragon Age save to influence certain overarching story elements of the second game, which is pretty awesome, although not as particular as Mass Effect's import system. Despite its issues, Dragon Age II is a worthy second entry to the franchise, and we're looking forward to what Bioware does next with the series.

STRGamer Codcast - Episode 1

The STRGamer Codcast is a place for intelligent discussion about video games and games of all kinds. And pirates. Each week we bring you news from the games industry and analysis of industry trends, so you can get your fix of gaming news and opinions without having to troll the internet looking for stories (that's our job).

The Codcast is reborn! Check out the inaugural (for the second time) STRGamer Codcast below. This week we talk about Rift, Dragon Age 2, Portal 2, Battlefield 3, Wii 2, Anime, and gamification. Also, Cinderella Ninja Warrior and Sleeping Beauty Vampire Slayer.

icanhascheezburger.com

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Need or Greed: DCUO and Portal 2

Need or Greed is a new regular column at STRGamer where we bring you the biggest stories in gaming news along with interesting topics that have gone under the radar. We figure that you're busy and don't always get a chance to scour video game news while you're supposed to be working (and neither do we, so stop trying to get us in trouble), so we'll bring you top stories that you need to know about and interesting trends that you may not have gotten your greedy hands on yet.

Need: DCUO is SOE's Fastest-Selling Game Ever

John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment, recently tweeted that DC Universe Online has become their fastest-selling game ever. Their newest MMO, based in the DC Comics universe, has attracted the attention of MMORPG gamers and comic book aficionados alike because of its superhero-style gameplay and licensed world and characters.

DCUniverseOnline.com

Smedley also commented on the shortage of retail copies of the game in stores, saying that more inventory is on the way. Whether this means that DCUO is great and must be bought or is simply benefiting from the hype machine remains to be seen - especially after the game's free first month of subscription is over.

We'll tell you what - if DCUO can finally answer the question of who would win a fight against Batman, and that it's a party of level 15 villains with names like "LexNoobth0r" and "Catwomansmom," we're in.

Source: MMORPG.com

Greed: Portal 2 Will Have Cross-Platform Play

What may be cooler than Portal? Portal multiplayer. Valve has announced that not only will Portal 2 have multiplayer, but that it will also feature cross-platform functionality between the PS3 and PC.

Last week, IGN reported that the PS3 version of Portal 2 will come with Steamworks, Valve's answer for a console version of Steam. Steamworks will make way for cross-platform chat, software updates, saving games to the Steam cloud, and a free copy of the game for PC and Mac. Yes, you read that correctly - if you buy the PS3 version, you'll get the PC version too.

thinkwithportals.com

Why is this important? Other than being a way to try to disrupt the space-time continuum by firing two portal guns at one another, it's another attempt - and a good one - at promoting online functionality between console and PC gamers. If Valve can do it right with Portal 2, we may be seeing the beginning of some real possibilities for cross-platform gaming in the next wave of MMORPG development. DC Universe Online is being taken seriously as both a PC and PS3 game (at least until the console owners learn about the $15 monthly subscription fee that PC gamers are used to), but you still can't play with your buddies if they don't own the same version of the game. Portal 2 might just be the next step in getting more people to play EverQuest III and Lolcats Online (both unconfirmed) from their couches.

I'm Cheap, and GameFly Helps

It's no secret that we're cheap at STRGamer, and are constantly looking for deals and ways to not pay full price on things. Sure, some of us may have loads of cash and can buy every game when it comes out at $59.99, and by some of us, I mean none of us. That's why I started a GameFly membership, which is proving to be a great solution in supporting my miserly consumerism.

You've probably already heard of GameFly, but if you don't know the specifics, it's basically a kind of Netflix program for video games. For $15.95 a month you can rent one game at a time from their extensive library of console and handheld games, or upgrade to two games at a time for $22.95. They're often offering discounted trial months for under $10, which is what attracted me to their rental program in the first place.

I bought a PS3 earlier this year, and being the completist that I am, wanted to play through all of the first iterations of the console's exclusives before getting into the newer sequels. So, I first picked up Killzone 2, LittleBigPlanet, and inFamous in preparation for their sequels' releases next year. Having read up on games like the original Uncharted and standalone titles like Heavy Rain, which are known for being shorter, contained experiences without multiplayer or as much replay value as the others, I was a little reluctant to shell out the funds to buy them.

icanhascheezburger.com

GameFly was running an $8.95 trial month promotion at the time, and with me figuring that a 5-day rental from Blockbuster would come to about that much anyway, it was ON LIKE DONKEY KONG. The first game I rented was Uncharted, and I played it over a weekend or so, sent it back, rinsed and repeated. So far, it's been an excellent service and value, and I highly recommend it for anyone that a) loves playing a large variety of games, and b) likes not spending money.

GameFly's also great for buying used games, as they have a lot of great regular deals on pre-played titles, and you can always choose to keep a game that you're renting for a discounted price. However, while it's really good for a lot of things, there are some games and genres that it's not the best for, like big new releases that everyone's trying to get their grubby, greasy, Sour-Patch-Kids-sticky hands on. We've put together a couple of lists to help you decide what GameFly's good for, and what you should still go out and buy:

GameFly's great for:
-Shorter titles with little replay value, getting the most out of your 15 or 22 bucks a month
-Older games that are not in huge demand
-Console/handheld games for any of the current-generation systems, as well as older ones (including PS2 and GBA)
-Games you're looking to try out before buying
-Used games at hugely discounted prices (Batman: Arkham Asylum for $16.99? That's unpossible!)
-Renting Demon's Souls and returning it after getting your arse handed to you in the tutorial

icanhascheezburger.com

Even though we're cheap, we still buy games:
-Longer titles with high replay value, which are going to suck that $15.95 a month faster than a Twilight collectible card game
-New releases, which generally don't have huge availability in their library
-PC games, which they don't stock, most likely because of DRM issues
-Impulse buys, which are way less exciting if you have to wait five days for them to arrive

Overall, it's a great service if you're into renting or trying out games, and for getting great deals on used titles. Companies like Redbox are starting to get into the rental market as well (via Engadget), and there are always places like Blockbuster and your local rental stores, but Gamefly seems to be the best value and convenience out there at the moment.

You're still going to have to get your PC games elsewhere (Cataclysm digital upgrade FTW), and we recommend sticking with buying new releases and longer titles (you'd better believe we're getting Mass Effect 3 at release, full price schmull price). Still, for renting shorter, older console and handheld games, as well as buying used titles, GameFly is totally worth your money!