Great Games Worth a Try

Ever since I stepped back from any form of organized play in WoW, I've been looking for new games to play.  I impulse buy a little too much on Steam deals, and even on XBL deals (xbox live).

Here are some games and my thoughts:

The Stanley Parable
8/10

This game comes with a lot of critical acclaim, and I found that it generally delivered.  I did buy it at a deal, so I'm not bothered by just how short the game is.  I played about 10 hours, and that was long enough.  Put some headphones on, and give it a try.

War Thunder
7/10

A war game with the promise of ultimately combining land, sea, and air battles.  So far, only air battles are in the open beta game.  I have played the game quite a lot because it offers what I often am looking for the most - rewarding play in short play time (30 mins to 1 hour).  And if you don't play much, you can easily pick the game right back up as the controls (at least for arcade) are straight forward.

Grand Theft Auto V
10/10

What else is there to say - I enjoyed the game tremendously.  It was fun to have the option of switching characters, particularly to Trevor (what on earth will he be up to now - dripping on and yelling at people lying on the beach in his tighty whiteys?).

The online mode is a little too 'meh' - I tried it, trolled a few players, got trolled myself.  That's about it.

Saints Row IV
9/10

This game is not what you think it is.  In fact, some reviews even complain that there is no point in having cars.  But that moment in the game where you can run at ridiculous speeds and jump building to building....Wow.  Saints Row IV is pure, unadulterated fun.  Don't compare it to GTA, it's a completely different game.  Highly recommended.

Hearthstone
7/10

A card game that is accessible and fun - and ultimately 'blizzard-style'.  I enjoy it, but personally I think this game is desperately calling out for a mobile app.  Hearthstone on iPad?  Yes please.

Diablo 3
7/10

Oddly I found myself back in Diablo 3.  I had originally completed the game on Normal, but couldn't care less to go back through the same game on harder difficulties for level and gear grinding.  However, with the new Battle.net launcher, plus the upcoming expansion, I found myself back in the game.  I leveled to 60, completed Nightmare, Hell, and 1/2 of Inferno.  The pick up and play element with groups is perfect for short play sessions.  I've since dropped it again, but it was fun.

Assassins Creed IV:  Black Flag
6/10

I picked up this game on the PC after I had built my new desktop.  There is a lot of fanfare around this game - not only for the game itself but also the graphics.  I find the graphics good, but not 'amazing'.  The game itself is at it's best when you are upgrading your ship and in intense ship to ship battles on the high seas...particularly in bad weather.  The game suffers in a number of the missions that are slow and grindy.  The sneaking element to a number of missions is awkward, and I stopped playing because of it.

Might & Magic: Heroes VI
6/10

I have extremely fond memories of playing Might & Magic Heroes in hot seat mode way back in the day.  I picked up this game with that nostalgia at the forefront.  I've played 2 hours in a month, and just can't seem to get into it.

Star Wars - The Old Republic (SWTOR)
5/10

All the problems remain.  Grindy.  Slow-paced.  No support for short play sessions.  The new patch with ship battles is in a sandbox/instance.  All I ever wanted was to fly off a planet into space, use hyperspace, and explore.  The entire game is a sandbox.  Copies WoW too much for issues like talent builders (really - a talent that increases x ability by y% - why?).

I punish this game because the promise was so high.  I think KOTOR is one of the greatest games ever made, with an engaging story.  SWTOR's character stories, while occasionally interesting, pale in comparison.

Planetside 2
N/A

Joining this game as a total nub was interesting.  I found a way to join a group, which I did.  Voice chat is built right in, so I was thrust right into it....and found how seriously people take this game.  I like that actually - but I haven't been back into the game much.  It seems like it could be epic PVP, but it felt like the old Warhammer online world PVP - running from base to base taking them over with your enemy doing the same, but rarely meeting up.

League of Legends, DOTA 2, Etc.
N/A

I just can't get into these games.  They are somewhat fun, but the curve to get to any reasonable knowledge level and skill with the sheer number of toons and builds out there is too much.  It's probably because I'd rather not play if I can't play enough to be reasonably good at it.

Patch 4.1 and 5 Man Raids

With the latest WoW patch, we have some more recycled content in Zul'gurub and Zul'aman. I don't mind catching the content up to current "world" and player status, but there is a problem with both - they didn't change. They were raids before, and now they are what you could call a "5 man raid".

This was mentioned over on "The Restokin" as well. 5 mans should not be a huge challenge and big time sink. It's to the point where everyone wants to avoid a LFD tool that is attracting all sorts of poorly skilled tanks (thanks to the bribe). I've seen paladins in +int gear (including enchants), druids in +str gear, etc.

Aside from the issue that iLevel is the requirement (seriously stupid), the issue is this. Zul'gurub has, what, 6 bosses? Firelands, the next raid in 4.2, has 7 bosses! Running ZA/ZG is an affair that can last hours...and the casual gamer pays the price.

Who really has interest in queueing for a heroic, waiting 15-45 minutes, then spending potentially hours trying to complete it? If you don't have a guild group or group with friends, forget it.

We all know the A Team is on Project Titan (the new MMO), but this isn't even a B Team.

More on creating Accountability in LFD

I've been thinking more about this LFD issue. I know many players generally will outwardly say "get friends and shut up"...but that doesn't help focus on how to turn the LFD tool into something useful. There is a fantastic post over on wowinsider that talks about the history of heroics, especially when a great tank in tBC was well respected, and how different tanking was.

Back to how to solve the LFD issue, I really think that the community self-policing is what makes sense. Specifically, Solution 4 in the last post. It is a "Favored" system - the better people like you, the more likely you will get ahead in the queue. This should be tied to Account, not toon.

Some additional ideas include potentially showing if anyone in your guild, realid or friends list have "liked" a random player. Make it more likely that you are grouped with these people. Even make a ladder system which encourages players to want to be better liked.

Throw that damn carrot on a stick in front of them to push the right agenda - improve anonymous player behavior and bring some fun with it.

Solving the LFD Problem in World of Warcraft

A lot of talk has been happening lately about how Blizzard plans to reward the role that is the least available in the Looking for Dungeon tool. Of course, this primarily means tanks.

This will "solve" the tank shortage for a few weeks, but that is it.

What will it do? It will compound the biggest problem in WoW - poor player behavior. You will have poorly performing tanks who will take massive amounts of abuse, and pro tanks who will abuse the casual dps player (you know the guy - the hunter with +intellect enchants).

As Big Bear Butt says - it's haggling over the price. And it's not a solution.

What is?

There are a few solutions - most involve re-thinking the LFD tool. So lets take a look at the tool first.

What does it do well? It is great for leveling dungeons. It was great in Wotlk with the easily out-geared heroics (and relatively simple mechanics). It lets a solo casual player get involved and do something. Where does it fail? Clearly, in Cata Heroics. After the initial shock, they aren't really that hard. But it is totally possible to still wipe - a silenced healer on Ozruk, someone failing at beams in BRC, etc.

I have a tank alt, and I did maybe 10 heroics. Just enough to get a few pieces i need. Rest was all purchased, and I'm raid ready. I only do heroics if it's a near-full guild group. Why? Accountability.

Alright alright, we all know the pros and cons of the LFD tool. And we all dread using it. Hardcore or Casual, you hate the (very good) chance of running with a group that ruins your enjoyment. Sometimes you don't even realize you are doing the same thing to others that you dread being done to yourself.

So what are the solutions?

NOTE: keep in mind that I'm a fan of hard content - the solutions below are simply to encourage the mass amounts of casual players into taking on a role of tanking, or at the minimum finding a way to have fun in a short time.

Solution 1: Separate full Random Heroics from full pre-made group Heroics.

Blizzard wanted Cata heroics to be more challenging than Wotlk. And they are (were?). The problem is - a full guild group (from a guild that raids) already are chain pulling, ignoring cc, and generally blasting through heroics. Take one or two of those players, and put them in LFD, and they double or triple the length of the heroic, might wipe, and generally get frustrated.

So tune the full random group heroic appropriately. Doubling the content would be best - but even taking the same dungeons and removing the more difficult fights, while appropriately adjusting the rewards, makes a lot of sense.

The casual PvE player wants to log in and do something in under an hour. Give him this opportunity. Harder core players are happy, and the casual is happy. Think of those LOTRO Skirmishes - they are great for a quick pickup group with friends.

Solution 2: Change LFD groups to have 1 Tank, 4 DPS, 1 Healer.

I know, crazy talk. But again LOTRO does it. It might not even need a tuning change - sure you compete with one more person for that sexy i346 loot you so desperately need - but this instantly reduces queue times for DPS.

Solution 3: Give tanks Snap Aggro

A huge problem in LFDs is DPS who refuse to "target skull" (or assist the tank). They randomly target whatever they want, and start up with the bad behavior if they pull. Tanks have to work harder to compensate for the lazy DPS, reducing the likelihood of queuing again.

In addition, the vengeance mechanic doesn't scale well in heroics, though it works very well in raids. So you have a tank fully gemmed/enchanted for mastery, with occasional aggro problems in heroics. I personally didn't find this - but I see it happening a lot.

TL:DR; Make tank threat easier for the casual tank.

Solution 4: Accountability

Sure you can ignore that frustrating DPS doing 3k and going AFK constantly. But you'll see another one just like him. Kick him? Well the chain-running tank doesn't like doing this - it hurts their ability to kick someone later in the same play session. I'm also not for the idea of giving tanks true leadership over LFDs either - reasons why are well documented elsewhere.

So how can you do this? One idea I had read somewhere was to have a like/dislike option on players. Rank us. If we maintain a "high favor", give us a reward. Use the pets and mounts for this. And don't just add up likes/dislikes - factor them by the player assigning it. (ie, that jerk player who has a low ranking assigning "dislike" to everyone is automatically not considered much). There are many systems out there for this.

Solution 5: Create a "Trusted Group of Guilds" feature

Often players in LFD behave very poorly when alone, but this behavior doesn't exist when in a guild group. This is for Accountability (see Solution 4). So allow for cross-server guild alliances - the LFD tool searches this pool first. This idea isn't that well thought out however, as small guilds and solo players would be left out.

Solution 6: Consider Alternatives for Random Heroics

This is a bit of an extension of Solution 1. The LOTRO skirmishes were a great way to quickly get together with friends regardless of role (tank/healer/dps) and have a bit of PvE fun. So create/modify content for this. Call it "Stonecore Skirmish" - mini-bosses, trash, and no requirement for specific roles in a specific balance. Most classes can self heal enough to carry them through...and it makes CC important too because honestly preventing damage taken is the same thing as healing. Have the mini-bosses drop i333 loot, with the final boss dropping one i346 piece (or something like this).

Conclusion

The LFD tool was a great solution for getting groups together fast. It's broken now - killed ultimately by heroics that have mechanics that generally must be followed. In Wotlk, most random heroics took 10-15 minutes, now we are seeing people stuck for sometimes 2 hours to complete one heroic, including queue time.

Something must be done - and the bribery is not a real solution.