Is It Adventure Time?

Game Mechanics - 1/2

Story-line - 1/2

Graphics - 1/2

Soundtrack - 1/2

Replay Value - 2/2

 Total Score - 6/10

Hey there fellow gamers it's time for another Friday video game review here on In The Mind Of My Mind. This week I broke one of my own rules and tried out an MMORPG that was recommended to me by a friend. I really need to learn how to deal with peer pressure better; but I digress. Main thing is I typically don't review MMORPG's because they are far too time consuming and require a lot of research and reading to know how best to create and shape your character. At the end of the day however the game is free to play and playable from your browser so why not give it a shot especially if you don't have a top end gaming PC. Have a look at Adventure Quest Worlds...

AdventureQuest Worlds, often shortened to AQWorlds or simply AQW, is a browser-based MMORPG or massively multiplayer online role playing game developed by Artix Entertainment in 2008. Unlike most massively multiplayer role playing games, AdventureQuest Worlds was developed entirely in Adobe Flash. The graphics style of AdventureQuest Worlds is much anime-like, especially notable in the characters' face. Upon creating an account, players are asked to choose one of four "starting classes" to be as their personal character, which are warrior, mage, healer, and rogue. When the players start the game, they will also automatically receive a default weapon. The way a player can advance and essentially progress and get better is by leveling up, which adds to their stat character page, making various abilities and attack power better, enhancements (which enhance a weapon to add stat modifiers, which come in either wizard, fighter, thief, healer, hybrid, spellbreaker, lucky, spitfire, adventurer, etc.), and class.

What’s Good:

Replay Value - If there is one thing that is certain its that this game has a ridiculous amount of content and things to potentially do. So much so that it seems more of a burden than a blessing but it ensures longevity and loyalty to the game. If you make it far enough and long enough to get your character looking as pimped out as some of the characters I seen there is not a doubt that you will be stuck playing this game for a long time to come. From the potential to change classes to the enhancement options of armor there is much that is to be discovered and made use of in this game. At the very least you have 4 different characters to choose from so that enables a wide variety of game-play strategies and experiences.

What’s Bad:

Seeing as I didn't want to nitpick at any one particular aspect i'm gonna summarize it all. Honestly most of the things they fail at are semi-justifiable, i'm just gonna do a quick run down. The navigation system is not as straight forward and intuitive as it could be, the character stats system deviates from the standard point allotment that is a staple point of most MMORPG's, the story-line line of the game itself is lost both because of poor quest progression but also because more value is placed on leveling your character through grinding rather than questing. These are all semi-justifiable since these issues are as relevant when you actually pay for a subscribers fee to the game.

What Should Have Been Added:

A stat point allocation system tied to the characters level, a proper navigation progression system, detailed and meaningful quest progression tied to the story line development and finally balance the exp gain so that questing is more important than just grind exp to level up.

Final Thoughts:

Definitely a fun experience starting out and a good option for those that may not have a proper gaming machine or console. Advisable to play with friends so as to make the experience more rewarding but with a registered user base of over 20 million people you should have no problem running into people and maybe making new friends. Most importantly the game is free to play so you have nothing to lose if you are a fan of MMORPG's. Vist http://www.aq.com/ and create a character so you can start your Adventure Quest today...

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Death Before Dishonor

Gameplay - 10/10

Storyline - 8/10

Graphics - 10/10

Game Score : 28/30

So we had this for a little while now on the lineup to play but Episode 4 of The Walking Dead came out in the same week so we chose to play that instead. Yaay us! Fast forward to this week we dive headfirst into this exciting new IP (Intellectual Property) called Dishonored. It has been heralded as a win for the ideal of new and original ideas still having a place in our world along with the idea that you don't need a multi-player aspect to a game to make it a success. With that said lets showcase the awesomeness that is Dishonored...

Dishonored is a 2012 first-person stealth action adventure video game developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was released worldwide in October 2012 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The game is played from a first-person perspective and allows the player to tackle a series of assassination missions in a variety of ways, with an emphasis on player choice. Missions can be tackled by stealth, combat or a combination of both. Exploring levels opens new paths and alternatives for accomplishing mission goals, and it is possible to complete all missions and eliminate all of Attano's targets in a non-lethal manner. The story and missions are modified based on violent actions, or lack thereof, committed by the player.

Dishonored is played with an emphasis placed on stealth action and the use of gadgets and the environment to eliminate opposing forces. The game world is a series of self-contained, mission-focused sandboxes designed to allow for multiple avenues of exploration in terms of in-game movement and powers. Dishonored also features role-playing game elements such as the ability to upgrade powers and moral choices with focus on non-linear consequences. The game is designed to allow the player to complete it without killing any NPC, including boss characters and mission targets. Actions committed by the player are not judged to be of a good or evil morality, but instead are tracked by a "chaos" system that records how much collateral damage, violent actions and deaths are caused by the player. The game world is modified by how little or much damage is caused, affecting story decisions with an emphasis on not punishing the player or forcing them to choose one style of play over another.

Whats Good:

Creativity is off the chain in this game. There is so much freedom to shape and mold your game-play experience as you see fit that it boggles the mind. You can play the game as a perfectionist completing and collecting all quests and item upgrades or you can play as a ruthless assassin hell bent on killing everything in his path. Then couple that with the fact that the game changes accordingly with the choices you make in regards to being stealthy or not and you have yourself a game with immense replay value.

Whats Bad:

Honestly not much was really missing from this game my only issues were with finding certain mission objectives via the onscreen location markers and fall damage. Aside from that the story was a bit cliche but it fits with the overall theme of the game so I can't really hate on it. Also didn't care much for the game sort of forcing you to collect the Runes and Bone ruins to level up your abilities since that kind of forces you along on the path of exploration if you want to maximize your powers.

What Should Have Been Added:

Honestly I can't think of anything that would have made this that much of a greater game.

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Bordering On Insanity

Gameplay - 10/10

Storyline - 10/10

Graphics - 9/10

Game Score : 29/30

Your friendly neighborhood gamer here; bringing you another weekly video game review. This week we are praising the awesomeness that is Borderlands 2. If you aren't already playing this you really should be; this game is just too good to pass up. If you can't play it due to hardware or cash flow limitations feel free to check out our play-through on our YouTube channel. We play through about the first 2 hours of the game so you can get a first-hand look at the game and some of what it has to offer. There is also going to be a bit of co-op game-play footage added later on to showcase that as well. Without further ado let's jump into Borderlands 2...

Borderlands 2 is a space western first-person shooter/action role-playing open world video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games. It is the sequel to 2009's Borderlands and was released for the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms. Borderlands 2 builds upon the gameplay elements introduced in its predecessor; thankfully though you can play this iteration just fine without prior knowledge from the first game. 

It is a first-person shooter that includes character-building elements found in role-playing games, leading Gearbox to call the game a "role-playing shooter." At the start of the game, players select one of four new characters, each with a unique special skill and with proficiencies with certain weapons. From then on, players take on quests assigned through non-player characters or from bounty boards, each typically rewarding the player with experience points, money, and sometimes a reward item. Players earn experience by killing foes and completing in-game challenges (such as getting a certain number of kills using a specific type of weapon). As they gain levels from experience growth, players can then allocate skill points into a skill tree that features three distinct specializations of the base character.

1. Salvador the Gunzerker, can dual-wield any combination of guns.

2. Maya the Siren, has an ability called Phaselock which suspends enemies in midair.

3. Axton the Commando, is a commando character who relies on turrets to decimate his enemies.

4. Zer0 the Assassin, is an assassin capable of creating a decoy of himself and becoming invisible for a short time. At the end of this process, he is then able to unleash a critical hit on an enemy with his sword or gun.

5. Unreleased as yet there is also Gaige the Mechromancer. The character, available October 16, is the fifth playable class in the game and was available with pre-order for free. Without the pre-order she'll cost $10.

Returning gameplay features from the first game will include the 3-branch skill trees, class-mods, and four-player online cooperative modes. New features include a more expansive and customizable weapons system, reworked four-seat drift-able vehicles and vehicle physics elements, and dynamic mission systems. All in all the game stays true to most the aspects of its predeccessor, obviously Gearbox Software is a firm believer in the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mentality. My only faults were slight annoyances more than anything else, but if I had to nit-pick. I would have wanted a guiding arrow for quests that points you in the right direction, as well as better driving controls as the cars feel very unresponsive causing me to crash; a lot... That aside the game is superb; the dialog is engaging, and it has immense replay value with all the classes and skills and customization options any gamer could want. Add to that the insane number of gun combinations and quests you have in this game. It is clear to me that this game is easily a candidate for "Game of the Year" status. So what are you waiting for? Come join the fun...

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