My Journey Back into World of Warcraft

In the mid-2000s, WoW Dominated Video Games

Well, it’s been a long time since I entered the virtual portal to Azeroth, sucking myself into one of the most successful video games ever created. Earlier this year I picked up my mage staff and re-activated my account and played for about a month before the interested died out quicker than I could cast my frost bolt. I had no idea what I was doing…so much was different from the time I had played in college. 

Ah…college…those were the days. I had three worries in my life my 2nd year of college. One, when did my classes start each day? Two, when do I need to get into the Garden Center at Walmart to work? Three, how late can I stay up running Molten Core to get some sort of drop that would help me?! Those aren’t in any particular order…Seriously, my 2nd year, my free time consisted of World of Warcraft and the occasional Socom 3 battle…not much else…yes. I was a loser. 

Back to current day, after years of not setting foot into the gaming world of WoW, I felt lost. I had a high level character that I put a TON of time and energy into, and I didn’t know him anymore. Spells were different, gear was obsolete…new zones…new raids…new…everything. AH! What do I do?!

Screenshot of Gameplay in WoW

Yep…that’s right…create a new character! Who needs that character that I invested so much into, I can get attached to a new character! So, I rolled a monk, because that was the new class at the time. 

That month, I played that monk exclusively and he almost reached the same level as my mage, who I had abandoned, thrown aside like a broken toy to live a lonely life on my character select screen. I miss you Emberrayne…I miss you…So, I jumped back into the high end stuff with my mage. BOOM! I’m back baby, I missed you! 

Then…two days later…my subscription ran out and I moved onto another game.

This month, Warlords of Draenor released. Yeah, so what? Another WoW expansion that does the SAME thing that every other expansion did…blah blah blah…the magic will be there for a few days but it will run out quick. Right? Oh…it is getting good reviews? Oh, interesting, you are going back in time to an area you’ve explored years ago in the franchise? Hm, graphic improvements? Garrisons? Automatic boost to level 90?! 

Garrosh, the main baddie in the recent expansions, Roar!

My account is reactivated. 

I haven’t purchased Warlords of Draenor yet, but it is on my Christmas list…and I have been able to play it a bit on Micah’s account (Micah’s birthday was earlier this month, he got his own account and Warlords as a present…I was instantly jealous). I have however, gone back to my characters that I gave the cold shoulder to earlier this year. The best thing they did with recent patches and updates? They SIMPLIFIED EVERYTHING! 

Yeah, that could be a bad thing for those who have constantly played since vanilla WoW (for those who don’t play WoW, that means the original game that released in 2004), this change is probably an annoyance. They’ve taken away spells and changed the talent trees to become more accommodating to players like me, who haven’t played in years but can jump back into the game without much of a learning curve on characters they have known for so long. Basically, it feels like riding a bicycle now…it takes a minute to get back into the groove, but when you do…it isn’t overwhelming. 

Emberrayne, my mage that felt like a completely different person when I tried playing him in March, was the old Ember from back in the day. I felt comfortable with him. I enjoyed getting back into the groove and getting him up to level 90. 

Resemblance to Emberrayne...BOOM!

I’m only a couple weeks into playing WoW again, but I’m highly anticipating snagging Warlords of Draenor (hopefully Santa brings it) to try out some of the newer perks with the expansion. I applaud Blizzard for getting me back into the swing of things with the late game content AND allowing a player to boost a character straight to 90, so they can experience the magic they created in that late game atmosphere. 

Look for Emberrayne on Frostmane, he will be spreadin’ ice like Elza in Frozen this winter. Any old school WoW players thinking of jumping back into Azeroth? I’d highly recommend trying it out!

I’ll try to get an official review of World of Warcraft (as of 2014/2015) soon!

Free Games with Xbox Gold Membership in January!

D4 available all January for Free

Free is always a wonderful thing, and with Xbox's Games with Gold program you get to download free games to your Xbox systems every month! In January they are supplying us with some very solid options that will be sure to save some cash

Two of these games I would only recommend to older teenagers or parents, no kiddies should play D4 or The Witcher:

All month long you can snag D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die for no charge. Reviews have been very solid with this game, so I'm looking forward to trying it out. Looks to be a crime/mystery that really utilizes the kinect motion controls and voice commands. The art style is visually interesting, looks to be taking a page out of the Tall-Tale series.

From January 1-15 you can get MX vs. ATV: Alive - which is an ATV/Off roading type of racing game. Micah would be interested in trying this out and I'll probably play it with him, but nothing to get me to jump out of my seat. Still, seems to be better than other games they have offered for free lately.

Witcher 2...for FRRREEEEEEEEE!!!

Then, from January 16-31, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings will be available for free. To me, this has most of my interest, just because I've heard some good things about this series...and the third title will be coming early next year. I haven't played the first one, but for free I think I'll start here with this series. Again, this is rated M, so this would only be appropriate for the adults to try out.

Games with Gold has released some duds recently, but these three games may be on my Hard drive by the end of January. Good job Microsoft!

Merry Xmas!: Duck Hunt coming to Wii U Virtual Console

This is a day for some classic NES news, man! While you are chowing down in your Christmas turkey, Nintendo will be releasing the ducks on the Virtual Console on the Wii U. That's right, you can shoot some birds and eat them too! Well, you know what I mean.

Nintendo will release Duck Hunt for download on Dec. 25...Merry Christmas!

P.S. How awesome would it be if Nintendo released an orange Zapper gun thing, you remember those? Yeah you do:

What is Mario Maker?

Parents, remember as a kid, the joy and excitement of getting through an entire Super Mario Bros. level without dying?! I DO TOO! Ah, man, what a rush! Classic moments, man. The original Super Mario Bros. was so intense, very difficult to try and get through an entire level, especially if you were several worlds in, without falling down a hole, or having a goomba tap you to death.

Anywho, those were the days. Did you ever dream about how they made those insanely hard levels? Did you ever want to make one of your own? WELLLLL. Now, you can! That's what Mario Maker is for the WiiU. You can design and build your own Mario levels, in the look and feel of the original NES games Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3, while also bringing in SNES's Super Mario World and the New Super Mario Bros. series, and play through them! 

Not only THAT, but you will be able to share these worlds online and have people play through them! How cool is that?! Now I can frustrate the crud out of people with insanely hard Mario levels and have the general public feel the pain I experienced as an 8-year-old when accidentally mistiming a jump and falling down a random gap in the ground several times in a row...honestly, I may take the ground out and have people just fail at my level the entire time...haha. Just kidding...or...am I?

Mario Maker comes to the WiiU in 2015, can't wait to get my creative hands on it!

3 Amiibo Figures Already Getting the Axe

Goodbye, Marth...:'(

Nintendo has confirmed today that 3 of its amiibo figures' production will soon be discontinued and not available in stores. So, if you are looking for some particular figures that aren't as popular (according to Nintendo) as Mario, Link and other faces of Nintendo, then you may need to snatch them while you can.

This announcement includes the discontinuation of Marth from Fire Emblem, Villager from Animal Crossing and Wii Fit Trainer from Wii Fit. I'm a little upset about Marth. As stated in my earlier amiibo article, Marth was my favorite character to play as on the GameCube version of Smash Bros. Now, unfortunately, if I ever want to symbolize my GameCube dominance, I will have to grab him off of eBay for some insane Buy it Now price.

I may try to find in stores now and see if anyone still has one...

Any who, never fear if you are wanting Mario, Link, Princess Peach, etc., according to Nintendo, they will make sure that the "most popular characters" are always regularly available in stores. So, if you and your child already have Mario and want to splurge on another amiibo, you can go to the store and find...more Marios?

Hmmm...

I'm not a huge fan of this announcement, especially after not even a month of being on the shelves.

- Mike

Final Fantasy X/X-2 Remaster for PS4

If you are a fan of the Final Fantasy Series, you probably remember the first PS2 title that came out in the early 2000s. A tale of love, saving the world and under water soccer...sounds like a typical RPG right? Kidding aside, it was an incredible game and definitely deserves to be re-released on the PS4 in HD format. Based off of an accidental post by Square-Enix, it seems as though FFX/X-2 are both going to be available in HD format for PS4 players in Spring of 2015.

As a parent, I wouldn't recommend the younger kids to play these games, but tweeners and older, that have a PS4, should really experience this story of FF10...and if they haven't yet, this would be a great opportunity. FFX-2 wasn't highly acclaimed, but I felt as though FFX was definitely one of Square-Enix's finer stories.

Leaked image from the Square-Enix site (courtesy of Kotaku):

What's an Amiibo?

A...mii...bos....??

Amib-bow, Amybeo, Amuboo...yep, I've heard it said all these ways, but I believe it is Amībo  or A-MEE-BO, for us english speakin' folk. What exactly is an Amiibo? Well, I'm sure you have seen something similar to them over the past few years in the form of Skylanders. Recently, Disney jumped on board and started creating their own near-field communication (NFC) creations as well, all based off of characters from their universe.

Well, here comes Nintendo! They've released several figures from their own Nintendo universe that includes some very recognizable faces. These figures work with a few games from the start, but Nintendo will be releasing updates to other games to allow the functionality of the Amiibos. They also plan on allowing these Amiibos to be functional with the Nintendo 3DS in the future. Here's a list of the games that currently have full support:

Princess Peach for the ladies

• Super Smash Bros.
• Mario Kart 8
• Hyrule Warriors

With support coming later to these titles:

• Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
• Mario Party 10
• Yoshi's Woolly World
• Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
• Super Smash Bros. (3DS)
• Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy Plus (3DS)

Link in store packaging

Now, these figures work a bit differently than what you may be accustumed to with NFC toys. They don't just pop in the game for you to be able to control them. They work differently for each game you insert them into. In Super Smash Bros., entering the figure into the game spawns a computer-controlled character to fight either alongside a player-controlled character, or against other CPU, player-controlled, or Amiibo-generated characters. With continued use, the Amiibo's corresponding character will be able to level up and learn new abilities.

If you insert one of them into Mario Kart, it will give you unique outfit options that you can only access if you have that character's Amiibo. So, it can make your game completely different, or just add some cosmetic changes. Either way, very cool accessory for gaming. 

Accessory...I like that word. With Skylanders and Disney Infinity, the NFC figures are necessary for you to play and enjoy the game. These Amiibos however, are more collectible accessories for your games...They don't have to be inserted into a game to be useful, you can enjoy a full experience without having to use an Amiibo. So, I'm going with that. It is a Nintendo gaming accessory. 

With all this said, you are probably wondering which characters are available and how much they retail for? Well, folks, there are a TON of figures that have been released in Wave 1 and other Waves will be released as we enter 2015. They retail for $12.95 a character (kind of pricey if you are wanting to collect all of these accessories) and can be found in any gaming store/section of department store. 

Here's a list of available characters and who will be coming out in the next waves:

Wave 1 (released Nov. 21):

Samus Aran, ready to fight for you!

• Mario (Super Mario)
• Peach (Super Mario)
• Yoshi (Super Mario)
• Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong)
• Link (Legend of Zelda)
• Fox (Star Fox)
• Samus Aran (Metroid)
• Wii Fit Trainer (Wii Fit)
• Villager (Animal Crossing)
• Pikachu (Pokemon)
• Kirby (Kirby)
• Marth (Fire Emblem)

Wave 2 (will release Dec. 14)

• Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
• Diddy Kong (Donkey Kong)
• Luigi (Super Mario)
• Little Mac (Punch-Out)
• Captain Falcon (F-Zero)



Marth, one of my favorites from Smash Bros.

• Pit (Kid Icarus)

Wave 3 (will release Jan/Feb)

• Rosalina and Luma (Super Mario)
• Bowser (Super Mario)
• Lucario (Pokemon)
• Toon Link (Legend of Zelda)
• Sheik (Legend of Zelda)
• Ike (Fire Emblem)
• Shulk (Xenoblade)
• Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog)
• Mega Man (Mega Man)
• King Dedede (Kirby)
• Meta Knight (Kirby)

So, as you can see...there will be a TON of characters to chose from within the next quarter. Not to mention, a very rich universe to continue creating more of these toys! Don't be surprised if games start getting developed strictly around these Amiibos. This will definitely help Nintendo get some sort of footing in the console wars. 

Which Amiibo would you get right now if you could? And which are you looking forward to in Wave 2 or 3?!

A Ten-Year-Old's Christmas Wish List

Well, it's that time of year, time for family, friends, good food and every commercial you see on TV to be preceded with "OH MY GOSH! I WANT THIS!" That's right, it's Christmas time.

For any kid, this is the time to load up your list with every toy, video game, bike or piece of candy that you have wanted for the year and hope that Santa Claus brings you anything but coal. This year, Micah has been very conservative with his list, more so than he has in the past. It might be that he is getting older, so the things he wants are more expensive? I dunno. But, regardless, there are several video games that have made his cut. I'm posting this list, not for you to go purchase these gifts for Micah, but to get an idea of what a ten-year-old may be looking for! Let's preview some of them:

NUMBER 1: Disney Infinity 2.0

HULK SMASH!...in Disney Infinity

Having been in love with the Skylanders games over the past few years, this feels like he is graduating high school and going to college. I'm not sure why, really, same concept as Skylanders, but he gets to control some of his favorite comic book heroes...AND several cool Disney characters that him and his sister love. (hello, Baymax anyone?) I think he will feel closer with some of these characters than he did with the first version of Disney Infinity, especially now that Skylanders isn't vying for attention.

Your kids, especially the ones who love super heroes, could start seeing Skylanders in the rear-view mirror, with the availability of playing as some fan favorite Disney and Marvel characters. Next up for Disney Infinity? Didn't they just buy rights to one of the largest franchises in history?...In a Galaxy...Far Far Away....

I hope some of you took advantage of some great black friday sales this weekend if your kiddos wanted this game. Some stores had this starter pack (Game with Ironman, Thor and Black Widow) at $40 (normally $75). Currently, I'm seeing some smaller sales, like $10 off here and there. Finding sales on some figures on the other hand is the tricky part. The game is available on all major gaming systems.

NUMBER 2: Pokemon: Omega Red/Alpha Sapphire

ROAAAAAR!

Is it just Micah, or does Pokemon seem to really be picking up steam again? It seems like recently he has been in the "gotta catch 'em all" phase...more so than usual. I'm talking like...playing Pokemon Y nonstop, asking to play Pokemon cards, watching the TV show...Pikachu this, Charizard that. Honestly, I'M LOVING IT! Cause I hit this phase about the same age as him, so I understand it. The excitement of catching all those critters can dominate your life! But, don't worry buddy, I'm here for you.

This one is on the handheld system, as most of the Pokemon titles have been, the Nintendo 3DS. This just came out in November so I didn't see many black friday sales on this, however, Toys R Us has a good deal going on where you can buy this and another 3DS game and get a $25 gift card. Other than that, pretty standard - $40-45. I can see why Micah wants this awesomeness!

NUMBER 3: World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor

For the Horde...and Alliance...just not Garrosh!!

This one is kinda my fault. I let Micah play WoW earlier this year for the first time, then we kind of fell off of it. Now, I've shown interest in the new expansion, Warlords of Draenor, and he is thrilled out of his mind. This game isn't for the little kiddos, but I definitely think 10+ is appropriate, especially with some parental settings on their account. The only draw back to playing WoW is the monthly payments, and the fact that we would have to re-buy the game for Micah to have his own account, so we could play together. But, if he gets this, I could see him making the investment worth it.

This expansion allows your characters to reach level 100 and to help with new people starting to play it, they give you a free character boost to level 90. The early levels are where Micah will find his best moments, because things get harder and more team-based at higher levels. This game is only available on the PC and so far I haven't seen any discounts on the expansion. However, you can get the original game and the first four expansions for only $20. You can also create a free-account, however it only allows you to play to level 20.

NUMBER 4: Super Smash Bros. 

Let the Button Mashing Begin!

The tradition of smashing buttons randomly to beat the crud out of Two-Dad is here! Smash Bros. for the Wii U is the newest in the franchise that allows you to play as your favorite Nintendo characters and fight it out! As methodically as I play fighting games, it is really pointless when playing Micah...he literally beats me all the time by just mashing any button combination he can muster. Regardless, it is super fun and he has a blast. This version is a bit different than previous iterations though.

Amiibos coming to Wii U!

Super Smash for the Wii U allows you to use a new technology, similar to Skylanders or Disney Infinity, called Amiibos. These are little action figures that you can store information on. I will have a whole article on Amiibos soon, but they aren't necessary to play Smash...they are a REALLY cool accessory though.

Much like the other games on this list, this game just came out so there weren't many sales during Black Friday. Same goes with the Amiibos.


That's it for this post! Keep in mind, there are several other kid-friendly games that could be on a holiday list. These are just games that Micah has shown the most interest in. I will post up some other ideas soon, but for now, this is what goes on in the mind of a ten-year-old during Christmas prepping.

- Mike
(I don't own the images used in this post, used my friend Google Images to retrieve them)

Coming Back

Micah and I were talking the other day and we discussed how we were a bit disappointed that we didn't try harder on this blog. So, we are planning a come back! Even though we didn't have much to begin with, we feel like we can start contributing to this to get our video game nerd-ness out. So, be prepared to see some more articles posted on here...Though, the main thing we have been discussing is making this a Video Podcast...so keep your eyes peeled for that. Hope everyone is having a great holiday season! Can't wait to get my hands on some of Micah's Christmas Presents this year, haha! Happy Holidays!