Alan’s Blog of Monkey Bloginess

Dungeons & Dragons Online has done something that every other MMORPG should have done years ago: gone free! As a casual gamer, I will never pay a blanket monthly fee to play a game. In particular, I would never, ever pay $50 for a game and then pay $15/month access fees on top of that. D&D Online has actually gotten me to play a MMORPG for the first time by making the game free.

Now, 100% of the game is not free, but to play, have fun, and experience the game is free. As you get to higher levels, some character races and classes require in-game points to access. There will also be in-game accessory packs and level packs available for purchase through a store, but those are all optional. The points can be purchased with real world money, or you can earn them in-game for free. So, it is possible to play the game 100% free and get the additional content. But personally, if the game is able to hold my attention that long, I’d likely be willing to shell out a couple bucks for the content. Show me that I want to pay money, and I’ll happily give it.

This is the direction media consumption is heading. Music, movies, TV, games; pretty soon basic content will be free, money will be made on add-ons that bring more value to the basic product that people will want to pay for. Of course, music has always been free, it’s been physical delivery methods that people have actually paid for.

Turbine is beginning to recognize this, and they recognize that by giving their basic game away, they’re really investing in marketing. More people play the game because the price of entry is $0, and then they tell their friends about the game, and their friends try it out because the price of entry is $0. Eventually, they’re hoping to make add-on content compelling enough to get enough people willing to pay. It’s a marketing plan that has worked for decades in the illicit drugs black market with great success.

The game itself seems pretty interesting. My major complaints come from not enough mouse interaction. I feel like I shouldn’t need to use the keyboard except in extreme cases. Such as, movement is done with the W A S D keys, where as I would prefer to right-click a place on the screen and have my character walk to it. Quick weapon switching would be nice, as would the ability to mouse click from weapon to spells instead of having use the interface to select options from icon menus, which takes precious time and concentration away from the game. In the heat of battle, this can be more than obnoxious. Perhaps with more practice transitioning between weapons and spells will become second nature, but as a beginner the interface leaves much to be desired for efficiencies.

Character customization seems impressive with enough options to create the visual type of player you want to be. Classes are fairly standard for D&D, as well. Though in both cases, not all classes and races are available to free players. Some require those points that can be earned or purchased. For me, I was able to create an elf necromancer, which is slick, though Drow elf will require money if I wish to ever go that route and recreate my last table-top character.

Adventures can be played solo or in a group, and common areas exist to interact with other players. Still in the beginning areas of the game, I haven’t seen if there’s an expansive free-roaming area. I used to play text-based RPGs in the ’90s, and I hardly ever went for any missions instead preferring to venture into the wilds and kill whatever was unfortunate enough to stumble in my way. I have yet to see that level of experience recreated here, but maybe I haven’t found it yet.

All in all for the steep price of FREE, I cannot recommend at least trying this game enough. If it’s not your cup of tea, then toss it out and move on. No loss.

See larger image Wii Sports Resort (Video Game) List Price: $49.99 USD New From: $39.95 In Stock Used From: $35.95 In Stock Released July 26, 2009.

I can’t do a review of Wii Sports Resort without doing a review for Wii Motion Plus, the Wiimote add-on that comes with and is required by Wii Resort. First, this is add-on adds sensitivity to the Wiimote, allowing for true 1:1 motion tracking. Previously, the motion sensing capabilities were limited which most developers used to simply replace button presses with a specific motion. So instead of pressing the “A button”, you move the Wiimote down.

With the example of a sword fighting game, you would move the Wiimote left, which would register as a “Move Sword Left” command, and then the sword on screen would move left. But, the sword would not move as you moved the Wiimote. Instead, it would activate a pre-programmed “Move Sword Left” game action. With the Wii Motion Plus add-on, the on-screen sword can mimic exactly the position of the Wiimote, and this is demonstrated with a sword fighting game in Wii Sports Resort that acts as both a Zombie Hunter Training Simulator when you get to the third level, as well as a teaser for a Lightsaber game.

Wii Motion Plus finally delivers the Wii’s promise of immersion gameplay with its increased sensitivity.

There are several areas of games that either group several stages of an activity or several associated events together. For example, as you play through Swordplay, more sword fighting events get unlocked ultimately leading to the Zombie Hunter Training Simulator where you take on hordes of Mii’s; whereas Air Sports includes Sky Diving as well as the plane flying simulators. Let’s take a look at what great sports are included in this set:

Swordplay
One can’t help but play through this game once and imagine in the back of your mind the gentle hum of a Lightsaber. If anything has made the allure of a Star Wars Lightsaber-based Wii game, it’s the Wii Motion Plus add-on. It’s extremely satisfying to have a true 1:1 motion translation between Wiimote and on-screen character.

Wakeboarding
Surprisingly strenuous, wakeboarding works your arms and builds endurance by the simple fact you keep your arms raised. Gravity is forcing you to work your arm muscles and after a round or two of Wakeboarding, I personally need a break.

Frisbee
Much like real frisbee, I can’t manage to throw a perfectly straight disc consistently. I’m prone to wild curves and just bad throws. I’m not sure if I should consider that a testament to the accuracy of Wii Motion Plus and Wii Sports Resorts reading my throw and translating it in-game or that not even Wii Sports Resorts is going to every make Frisbee Golf fun for me.

Archery
The first time I’ve needed to put the Wiimote in my left hand, and it feels weird. I don’t like how it forces you to have the A-button facing yourself, because when holding it up-right, all of my fingers are on the backside, requiring me to use unnatural hand positions to operate the Wiimote both as a bow and as a game controller. The nunchuck attachment is used brilliantly to pull back and launch the arrow. Consider this game the second half of Zombie Headhunter Training. I like to picture zombie heads in the bulls-eye.

Basketball
I’m not too impressed with Basketball on Wii Sports Resort. Basketball games in general on game consoles have been lackluster, and Wii Sports Resort makes it a lot more fun than usual. But with the quality of several other games included in this compilation, my Wii Sports Resort time gets filled in other areas of the set.

Table Tennis
Table Tennis, or Ping Pong as I prefer to call it, is really hard in real life if you’re playing against someone who plays regularly. It’s fast paced, the ball is small, and so are the paddles. Fortunately in Wii Sports Resorts, aiming the paddle is taken care of for you, and you focus on timing and angle of the swing; much like Tennis from the first Wii Sports. Pretty much immediately I was able to get top spin and power hit the ball.

Golf
This is an updated version of Golf from Wii Sports that utilizes the increased sensitivity from the add-on. I’m not big into golf, but in Wii Sports Resort it’s pretty darn fun. The physics and controls are responsive and feel accurate. When the ball gets sliced off the green, I know it’s because my grip was off or my swing was pulled at the end.

Bowling
This is the other repeat offering from the first version of Wii Sports and a prime example of what the Wii Motion Plus add-on offers. Bowling feels more responsive and accurate than before, leaving bad throws to fall flatly on my own shoulders. No more blaming the Wiimote for not recognizing my throw properly. At least no more accurately blaming the Wiimote; there’s still plenty of blame to go around!

Power Cruising
Having ridden an actual JetSki, Wii Sports Resort is definitely a different beast. On an actual JetSki, you work your legs clutching the craft with thighs and hold on tightly with your arms. In Power Cruising on Wii Sports Resort, it works more like arm endurance in keep your arms up, much like wake boarding. The interesting part comes in actually twisting the Wiimote for throttle, though using the nunchuck & Wiimote in separate hands makes it hard to keep them level and it ruins the feeling a bit.

Canoeing
The true joys of canoeing come from being out on the water, slowly rowing through a peaceful natural scene. This is not recreated in Wii Sports Resort, and the canoeing exercise suffers for it. While the rowing action is a great use of the Wiimote, the mini-game is just missing something that makes true canoeing a zen experience of bonding with a natural environment.

Cycling
It’s weird using the Wiimote to cycle, because it’s an action associated with the legs. I’m not particularly fond of this one. It’s great for arm endurance and exercise, but I’d rather be out on a bike. On a chilly day when cycling is uncomfortable, Cycling on Wii Sports Resort is no substitute.

Air Sports
Air Sports involves skydiving and plane flying. The plane flying tasks are a lot of fun, particularly just cruising around the island exploring. You fly the plane as if it were a paper airplane, sorta. Don’t throw the Wiimote, but guide the pitch, roll, and yaw of the plane. Eventually you can kill the engine, shoot at balloons, and get into dog fights. The Sky Diving isn’t as much fun, but that could be because I’ve actually been sky diving and nothing beats the adrenaline rush after falling from an airplane … it just doesn’t translate to a game … at all.

If you have enjoyed the pick-up-and-play aspects of Wii Sports, then Wii Sports Resort is the perfect extension for you. The Wii Motion Plus add-on attachment adds increased sensitivity that ultimately delivers on promises of true immersion by allowing a 1:1 action between the Wiimote in hand and the character’s actions on-screen. If you wait a bit longer, you can purchase a copy of Wii Sports Resort that includes 2 Wii Motion Plus add-on attachments so you don’t need to purchase a copy of the game and then an additional add-on to play against someone else, as the attachment is required for all the games (the nunchuk is only required for a couple).

See larger image Katamari Forever (Video Game) List Price: $29.99 USD New From: $20.97 In Stock Used From: $25.00 In Stock Released September 22, 2009.

First, let me start off by saying I have never played the Katamari games before. It’s not from a lack of interest, but just that I never owned a PS2 and the PS3 I got is backwards incompatible. So, before the latest Katamari offering for the PS3, the world of creating Soylent Stars from people has been off-limits to me.

While this game is pretty much a “Best Of” compilation of previous Katamari games, it’s all new to me! I find the levels quite challenging the first time through and would like there to be some sort of GPS system … or giant ominous hand to point out important places to go.

The controls of the game are easy to get the hang of, though different from many other games. The game is played with the dual analog sticks where the katamari is pushed in a tank-style method with little necessity of use of other buttons. There are additional controls for jumping to the opposite side of the katamari for a quick turn about or revving up the katamari for a dash, both using the analog sticks. A flip up on the Sixaxis controller and the katamari jumps, though I find pressing the jump button to be far easier to execute.

The best part of the game is the totally wacked out story and themes. The game consistently challenges the brain to wrap itself around the logic behind what it’s seeing, and generally it ends up a mangled mess. It is brilliant.

The replay value on the levels is very high. Besides getting cousins and presents to change playable characters and appearances, there is also just the challenge of the puzzles themselves. Katamari is primarily a puzzle game where you solve goals and find the best path through a course to get to the largest size as quickly as possible. As you roll your katamari over items and gain in size, you are able to then pick up larger and larger items. Objects that were initially obstacles later become fodder. Eventually you’ll start hearing screaming and notice you’re picking up people.

The most convincing reason I can give why you should give this game a try is that my fiance, Mercedes, enjoys not only watching me play but enjoys playing herself. Even when I’m not around; she’ll tell me of her exploits attempting some of the more challenging levels and her triumphs on some of the earlier stages. She’s shown moderate interest in some Wii games but never picked up a PS3 controller previously. Katamari has gotten her using the PS3 for more than streaming media to the television.