Diaspora, Ambassador to the Elves

Having returned to LOTRO, I set myself the challenge of getting Reputation to Kindred, the max level for the three Elven factions, Malledrim, Galadhrim and the Elves of Rivendell.

After 5 long days of grinding, I finally hit all three and now not only have a new title, but a shiny new mount, the Elf-ambassador's steed, one of the faster mounts in the game.

Back to LOTRO!

After an extended hiatus, which very nearly became permanent. I have returned to LOTRO. I even went to the point of unsubbing for the first time since I started playing but within 24 hours of the subscription lapsing, I re subbed.

Once I'd dropped down to the F2P model ( or what they call Premium for previous subscribers) the hassle of figuring out what I needed to buy to get the same experience was just too much work, so I re upped, and ventured back.

Rather than go back to my level cap warden, I decided to get my Captain, Diaspora to level cap and to try and stave off the overwhelming feeling trying to level 9 alts at once is, I have opted to only play to progress this character. So far, I'm loving it. I last left her in Rohan at level 77, a zone I have been through more than once, but now it feels fresh again. Fights that I breezed through previously, are challenging to my underpowered (and probably under geared) and the final battle to protect Faldham, one of the towns in Rohan felt epic, as I struggled to stay on my mount and was knocked off before killing the last Uruk commander with less than 100 morale to spare.

I've also been missing the community and have a hankering for group play, something I rarely get in GW2 (at least with people I know) so I joined some of the new Kinmates and old friends for a run through the Grand Stair in Moria, which was great fun.

Diaspora is 79 now and I'm looking forward to getting through Rohan at a steady pace and moving on to Gondor, which I've only played through on my main, so should remain fairly fresh. Looks like, for now at least, I'm here to stay.

Her Story - Most original Indie game this decade

Thanks to the fine folks at The MMO Show, I discovered a great new Indie Game called Her Story.

I grabbed it for my Ipad, as I don't have much in the way of mobile games, though it is available for PC too on Steam for £4.99.

The game, from Sam Barlow, mind behind Silent Hill:Shattered Memories, is basically a detective game using real video, a series of police interviews with a woman who's husband has disappeared. Using keywords, the player has to go through snippets of video and piece together what has happened.

Without spoiling the story, this is so much more than a murder mystery and the most original game I have seen in years. I highly recommend it!

Edit: Having now pretty much finished the game, I can recommend even more highly. The acting talent of the interviewee and her nuanced body language adds another layer to a startlingly well written game and expect to be thinking about this game long after you finish it.

Swordsman - First 30 mins of gameplay.

Having cut the cord with LOTRO, I'm now exploring other MMO's. Having dipped my toe into Archeage, the graphic style, distinctly Asian, reminded me of a game I tried some time ago, Swordsman, from Perfect World. Very much a martial arts game, your character gets to choose between ten fighting styles from Wu Tang to Shao Lin. 

Here is the first half hour of my return to the game, starting a new warrior from scratch. 

NB. It was recording using the new Raptr video capture so apologies for the quality.

Over 5 years later, finally cut the cord...

H1Z1 June Roadmap

Some fantastic plans ahead for H1Z1 this month, including the exciting news that Professions for characters are on the way! This will really flesh out characters and give them more of an element of inviduality. AND WALKIE TALKIES!

June 9th Update 
The stairs on the deck foundation have been removed. You can now craft foundation stairs and place them in multiple locations around the deck. 
Added a new recipe for a deck ramp that can be placed in multiple locations around the deck foundation 
Early Survivor Crate containing brand new items 
Items will continue to decay after server restarts and game updates

June 16th Update 
Party System – You will be able to join a lobby with your friends, from the lobby you will be able to join either an H1Z1 Survival server or a Team Battle Royale Server in the future 
New Weapon – AK-47 
Leaderboards for Battle Royale – Everyone will be ranked for now, in the future this will be part of a bigger system involving seasons which will be announced at a later date 
Added a new recipe for a Watchtower that can be placed in multiple locations around the deck foundation 
Radios (CB and AM/FM), Walkie-Talkies

June 23rd Update 
Team Battle Royale will be available. Join as teams of 2 or 5 in this new version of Battle Royale 
4 military outposts will be added to the current map.

June 30th Update 
Professions – When creating a new character you will be able to select what his profession was before the apocalypse. This will give your character different stat bonuses and other unique things. Note that this will be a very early pass at the Professions system and will launch with just a few to choose from. 

The Witcher 2 : Assassins of Kings

In my continued attempt to finish more single player games, I have dusted off my old copy of The Witcher 2, which I struggled to get into last year.

And it's AWESOME! The controls, that seemed very complex before, now seem very natural and the story and cut scenes are incredible. Having read some of the original books, I'm very familiar with the character and setting and this is an excellent rendering. I'm hoping I can keep up and finish the game and then perhaps try The Witcher 3 that everyone is talking about now.