Limelight: Guns of Icarus

Tell me boys and girls, how does this sound to you? You are an air pirate in a post apocalyptic sky where you and your crew will seek to destroy fellow sky pirates for the glory of your clan and to add to your growing pile of silly hats. That sound good does it? Well do I have a game for you! 

For those of you kids these days what with your Dota's and your Meta gaming, Guns of Icarus is a MOBA game centered around teams of four which work together flying airships and battling other crews for glory and fun! The game has three classes: Engineer, Gunner, and Pilot, and seven different ship types to choose from: Pyramidion, Junker, Goldfish, Squid, Spire, Mobula, and Galleon. The classes are self explanatory, but where the game stands out is in it's necessity for constant and functional cooperation and the ability for teams to comeback in a moment, making most matches fun and high pressure. But that's not to say the game is just an endurance test in dealing with people, and in fact the cooperation makes it not only fast paced and engaging, but also instantly available to all players with the right teammates.

The core feature of the game that separates it is the ship. Where other MOBAS have a stationary crystal or base guarded by players which must be destroyed to win, the ship is both the base and the offensive capability of the team. Each ship has a certain amount of health before it is destroyed, as well as armor protecting it's health called hull. Since the ship is what is engaging in combat in place of players, the objective of the crew is to try and maximize damage to the enemy while keeping the ship afloat. As such, the individual skill of the player is no longer the only factor, but rather a part of the overall skill of the team. This is important to what makes GOI different, as it allows better players to pick up the slack while also not dooming a team if they have one or two less experienced players. And with the different weapons and ship types, a team can customize their vessel to best suite the dynamics of the team. A team whose very power fixated might take a heavier ship with only gunners, whereas another might take a more maneuverable ship with sniper cannons and engineers to pick off enemies from afar while remaining unharmed from the odd volley of cannons. Each vehicle is very different in design with the myriad of weapon types, and the odd bit of decor, so the game provides great customization options for each team and each players style.

But that's not the only customization factor in GOI, as the player is also fully customizable. Every character has slots for different equipment and for each class, as well as having ascetic options like clothing, hats, and dyes. And while many outfits have to be purchased, many are also unlocked through achievements and leveling up your classes. Ranging from putting on cow skulls and a diving helmet, or dressing like a regal commandant, you are likely to find something to wear.

That's not to say this game is perfect mind you. So get out your maracas and prepare to do the conga cause it's now time for:

The Parade of Nonsense!

To start with: Loading times. Yes I know that complaining about loading times for an MMO is like making a pinata out of a dead horse but still it warrants a note. In GOI you will spend a considerable amount of time in loading screens, waiting for the lobby to fill up, and hearing the audio skip as you go from game to lobby and back again. 

Secondly, if you like grinding you are in for a treat. As I said before, the game is fun and interactive and each match is, for the most part, a fun time for all. But for many of the levels above the novice rank (Level 8 or above), you'd better be prepared to power through hundreds of games. And many of the achievements require you to perform various tasks, some rather absurd, in your matches to gain equipment and ranks. And while many are kinda fun, do I seriously need to repair my ship 30 times when not spotted on a specific map? Are my engineering skills somehow not up to snuff when the ship is just puttering around like Steamboat Willy? 

And finally, the fact that sometimes the ship, as beautiful a piece of metal as they are, are your worst enemy. You may occasionally get stuck on pieces of trim, fall off the ship because chunks of metal which should logically be there are not there (who needs a piece of metal to cover this gaping hole and subsequent plummet to your demise?), and sometimes the set up of the ship actively tries to get the ship blown up (the wall between the hull and the balloon machines is like a piece of dry wall, while do I have to walk around the entire ship?!?) 

But despite all of that, I do really love this game. It's fun, cooperative, and has gotten me back into the online community after being locked in single player for so long. I recommend it to anyone who wants to try and get into the online gaming scene without the burnout that  comes with so much of the professional and meta gaming scene. It's on Steam, there are humble bundles for it occasionally, or you can purchase it directly from Muse Games (the studio who made it). 

First Batch of Equestria Pruina

So today I was outside. I was playing with my family dog, Floki, and I was enjoying the fresh air and beautiful skies offered by the sunset. And wandering around, seeing a frosty wasteland, I had an idea for a story. So here's a new thing I will be doing: First Batches. Here I will be posting very rough drafts for stories and seeing if anyone has comments. Enjoy tearing this apart, I know I will. Feel free to message me you're critics.

Equestria Pruina ©

Long ago in the magical land of Equestria, everything was perfect. Ruled over by a pair of magnanimous twin sisters, and guarded by the legendary wielders of harmony, the kingdom and its neighbors weathered numerous cataclysms and experienced unprecedented prosperity as unseen before the Nightmare War. Together, the rulers Luna and Celestia, along with Princess Twilight and her loyal friends, built Equestria into the wonder of the world.The reach of the rulers expanded beyond the borders of Equestria into the wilderness beyond, bringing in new ideas and new species as well as old. The new borders spread unto the coastal waters of the Great Capricorn Sea, bringing Equestria into contact with the Zebra Lands. While also bringing the changelings of the Great Wastes, now a shattered specter of the monstrous threat they were once, into the New Equestria. Meanwhile seeking to understand the cosmos she had once been banished to and which she had once banished her sister two, the Royal sisters funded a space program to the creation of extra-planetary colonies to better understand the universe. Led by the finest science ponies and astromancers the world had to offer, the first colony was established on the frosty moon of Faxi, A distant but habitable moon at the very edge of the solar system. There the science ponies and first colonists discovered the remnants of ancient gods long since frozen, and a great dark sea beneath the layers of ice. Thousands transferred, seeing an opportunity for discovery and new opportunities, but most only finding cold and wildlife from their own world grown feral and mutated by magic. Faxi may be a beautiful moon, but it is a cold one. And being so distant from the warmth of Celestia’s sun or the watching gaze of Luna, many inhabitants feel utterly alone. The trip to Faxi from Equestria is at least 20 years, and fewer and fewer trips have occurred lately. Now many towns have declared themselves independent of Equestria, and much of the planet is entirely locally run. On a cold barren planet, rich in secrets and predators, alone and at the edge of the solar system, it seems nothing is sacred to ponies these days. Perhaps not even friendship. 

Juniper Jams Rambles: MLP:FIM What's in a name?

Well MLP:FIM has wrapped up it's fifth season with a promised sixth  on the way and a movie in the works for 2017. And now that we are fully tucked into the hiatus with our favorite fan fictions and a cup of warm apple cider I thought  I would take this time  to sit down with you children and talk about names. Yes, but for those currently unaware let me catch you up to date. The MLP:FIM community has had a long running discussion about how naming in Equestria works, referred to as the "Nature V. Naming" debate. And while it's all fine and dandy discussing if a name defines a ponies talent, I feel the season, and the 100th episode in a particular, brought up a bigger question:

Why do Ponies get special names?

And I know you're probably thinking "huh what?" But seriously look at the non-pony characters. Gilda, Cranky, Matilda, Steven. Everyone of them has a pretty normal name except for Cranky and Iron Will. I attribute Iron Will to being a stage name and Cranky is the exception to prove the rule. They all have pretty normal first names. And yet ponies get first, last, and even full names ranging from the sorta silly nickname to the absurd. Why? Well I have a theory.

(Picture property of TheRandomJoyrider
http://therandomjoyrider.deviantart.com/art/We-Will-Leave-Our-Mark-565620746)

Cutie Marks And Magic
Yup. The here to unexplained double ink every pony gets on their flanks which are unique to each pony. Now I have a head canon that cutie marks are the result of internal magics, and since ponies are the only species with magic, only they have cutie marks. And as a result the mark represents how the magic is expressed, and hereby a ponies natural talent. Or sometimes not, as with Fluttershy or Derpy where it seems to represent personality more than talent. Or when it's familial like say the Pies and Apples. Or when it represents nothing at all like say Amethyst Star or Mayor Mare. Well only because she's been written out of the show. But since ponies are the only species which have cutie marks, even excluding their genetic cousins from Saddle Arabia, it would make sense they would receive a special name. The name allows you to denote an aspect of personality or talent. And while some ponies may be born with an inert talent or character that matches their name, it is more likely ponies are named a few months or years after they are born. This would explain why they are named the way they are, but sometimes there names don't match their talents. IT could also be adult ponies can change their names, or are just refereed to by a different name by others, such as Bon Bon. Indeed a bit more extreme but I don't think it's unreasonable. After all people in our world can go by many different names and nicknames. And if you were a pony, why go by John when you could refer to yourself as something amazing like Rainbow Dash. Or something silly like Juniper Jams. Wait...

(Wallpaper by Chevistan
http://staremblem97.deviantart.com/art/My-Little-Pony-Season-5-Wallpaper-574979435)

So there you go. My opinions and why I have them. As always feel free to comment and message me. And if you have your own theories let me know. And don't forget to say beautiful my lovelies!

Fallout: New Vegas and the Lone Wanderer

So,I have been gone a long time. Now into 2016 but luckily  I have finally escaped the lair of that sea witch and retrieved my voice. Now with that out of the way lets get onto the reviews! 

To start us off: Fallout New Vegas

So during my time off I have eaten my way through Fallout: New Vegas and it's subsequent 4 DLC. For those of you who can afford to live under bigger rocks than man, you rich bastards, Fallout and Loathing in New Vegas is the fourth main Fallout game in the series and canonically occurs at the same time as Fallout 3 but before Fallout 4. Yes Bethesda apparently booked a ticket on the Weird numbering train for their games. Getting a window seat next to Bioshock. So here we are with Big Fallout in Little New Vegas, and off the bat the we break with tradition. New Vegas lets you off the into the world almost immediately, with no forced quests or establishing quest to give you a purpose. There is a main quest of hunting down the man who shot you, but really the game just expects to wander off and pick up the pieces as you go. New Vegas has a world which is gorgeous to look at and enjoyable to wander to, and most of the time I didn't fast travel because wandering was just so much fun. 

To me the world is the best part of the game, and what makes New Vegas truly shines. Because while it is not the biggest area it has some of the best character of any game, taking the appearance of a western with you as a literal lone wanderer. The game presents to you a twisting tale of revenge, hubris, betrayal, lost treasure, and wandering heroes and villains, and plays it's nature to the hilt. It doesn't usually bash you over the head with it's wild west wingdings, but instead uses real world examples to try and peak the players interest and investment. A good example of this is the town of Novac, where a giant dinosaur statue marks a community built in a motel. Even though it's not very large it's location makes it impossible to miss, and it provides a hub from which numerous fun areas are explored. And even in Novac there are interesting characters like the sniper with a dark past, the aged fly girl, and the hack doctor who lives up to her title. It's just so silly, yet also contains a lot of potential if you are willing to dig in, and is always a good place to hang your hat. 

And that's what makes New Vegas so great. It's a campfire story about you, the lone wanderer, and you are listening throughout the game of how you become a legend of this living world. It's not like Fallout 3, in which you are noted but not recognized for your actions. In New Vegas people react to you, they hear tell of your exploits and they treat you different for them. By the end you have created a legend that will endure the ever changing sands of the Mojave, and wander into the sunset like a true Lone Wanderer. I would go on but this one is somewhat winded so all I will say is play it if you haven't. And if you have tell me what was your favorite main game area? I'd ask DLC but I know the answer is Old World Blues. I'm Juniper Jams, and stay beautiful!

Kudos to Penett for the wonderful art!

http://penett.deviantart.com/

Juniper Jams Rambles # 1: Prepare to Die

Hello Internets, I am Juniper Jams, and this is my new blog! As the title says, this blog will be my rambles, random thoughts, and discussions, mostly about pop culture but also whatever peaks my interest. I appreciate all feedback, and if you want to send me something you think I would like, I will gladly take a gander at it, give my silly thoughts, and maybe even talk about it on the blog.

     So since I have been binge playing Dark Souls, and with the recent announcement of BloodBorne, I figured I would talk about the easy mode controversy. While around since the release of Demon Souls, the announcement of the new Souls game has once again kindled the flames of controversy as to whether or not the Dark Souls games should have a difficulty setting. Personally, I think this would ruin the appeal of Dark Souls, but let's hear the argument first. From my own experience, most of the arguments against the Souls games' difficulty is that they either:

A. Do not allow the player to adapt the experience by forcing everyone to play at the same difficulty.

or

B. are too difficult for most players to get into or enjoy. 

These arguments are typically based around how Dark Souls notorious difficulty turns players away, or makes theme quit while playing out of frustration. And this is true to a certain extent, as many who go into the game not fully aware of what they are getting into do turn away after getting killed, as they see the game as artificially hard. This supposed artificial difficulty is due mostly to it's lack of a pause, number and placement of enemies, and sheer learning curve. Others meanwhile see the games and unfair, as the game's single difficulty makes the game only for "Hard-Core" gamers, and not something everyone can enjoy. And while I can understand where these arguments stem from, I strongly disagree. Many lovers of the Souls games' like myself, Vaati Vidya, and EpicNameBro are of the opinion that the Souls games' are made by their difficulty.  A lot of modern games have it so that a player could just ignore every single thing the game gives them, and just beat it, following what many call the "Everybody Wins" philosophy. And while many beloved series have gone this route from Elder Scrolls to Mario, this is where the Souls games differ, and where they go back to games like Castlevania and Contra, where skill is the key element.

     In the Souls games', difficulty is used to teach the player, as it shows that the player that if they try and rush an area blindly, they will die. Quite often in these games there are enemies who will kill anyone with ease, such as the Black Knights or the Asylum Demon, and who will often repel a blind charge. These monsters teach the player to strategize, to learn the attack pattern of the monster and uncover it's flaws, rather than just bashing away until they win. In a Souls game, the player is taught that they can overcome any obstacle with enough forethought, reflex, and cunning, so that when they die, while they may get mad, they understand where they went wrong. I remember playing when I was in the Asylum, and I died because I thought I could mow down a horde of enemies. I was mad, but I realized I should've kited them to the cliff and used my shield to knock them off. This is what surprises many players, and what the Souls games are all about, as From Software, the creators of the Souls games', literally states that the point of the Souls games was to create near impossible challenges for the player that give the greatest sense of achievement when beaten. In a Souls game there is always a boss you fight twenty times and can't seem to beat, yet when you finally beat, you feel like a true hero or mighty warrior. 

     This is where the Souls games shine, as they give the player all the tools to beat the game, and then throw the player into the experience to fend for themselves, solving the problems on their own with whatever they have. And while this does make the game challenging, it does not make the game unfair, as shown by the phrase "Prepare to Die". These games tell the player straight up that they are challenging, and the player will die often, but they never insult the player for failing, or lower the difficulty. These games constantly tell you that you can win, but that it's gonna take some effort. And while this may turn some players away, it's not unfair, as the game never does anything sneaky, or pulls some drastic shift out of nowhere. The games are true to their ideas and their message all the way through, and that is what makes them great, and why a difficulty setting would be horrible. These games are based on the idea that challenge can be rewarding, and that catering to the player is bad, and many player love them for it, myself included. These games show that something difficult can be rewarding, and that just because something is hard doesn't make it unfair or bad. But if you let the player artificially change the difficulty, then you lose the meaning of the game, and the game is made just another dark RPG with some fun mechanics. In the end, these games (and hopefully BloodBorne too) are fun because they never give an inch, and while they are challenging, they are also immensely rewarding. So for what my two cents are worth, I would say keep the games hard, as they wouldn't be the same without their challenge. And for those of you out there wanting to play these games for the first time, well, good luck and prepare to die. 

     My name is Juniper Jams, this has been quite a ramble, and I will see you all next time!