Token Female Gamer

When I find myself desperate for excuses to do anything but write a review, it’s usually because the subject matter ended up being rather disappointing. Borderlands 2 sadly falls into this category, as I have been struggling for weeks to come up with something praise worthy to write.

But I can’t let that stop me anymore, productivity must continue!! (Never give up, never surrender!!) With my house clean, laundry finished, caffeine and snacks at the ready, I am all out of excuses; its time to sit down and get this review done. Wait, what am I writing about again? Oh right Borderlands 2…hmm is that a spot over there that I missed dusting? Clearly my bout of Borderlands 2 induced ADD is persistent.

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Mist of Pandaria (MoP) is the latest expansion to the ever popular World of Warcraft Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. With a brand new continent, new playable race and class, new talents for all classes, Pokemon and Farmville, the ever expanding world of Azeroth has gotten just a bit more crowded.

Following a rather extensive WoW break, I dived into Pandaria with tempered enthusiasm. Between the disappointing Cataclysm end game and Pandas becoming the new playable race (Blizzard swore that would NEVER ever happen), I found my expectations understandably depressed.

But now, with a little over four hundred hours under my belt, it’s quite clear that I liked the game better then expected and that a review is far past due.

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The original Super Mario Bros was a seminal game. Not only did it spawn a legion of sequels, but it also catapulted the Mario franchise into the stratosphere in terms of popularity. It also happened to be the inception of my (and many others) life long Mario habit and still holds a very special place in my heart.

And though I’ve played many of the sequels, most of them diverged wildly from the original, expanding the world of Mario in many new and interesting directions.

All good things, but it does make me appreciate Super Mario 3D Land, as few games have evoked as much nostalgia for the original. 3D Land managed to capture the simplicity of the original Mario, with straightforward and short, yet interesting and challenging levels, simple graphics and minimalist backgrounds. But like all great sequels/remakes, Super Mario 3D Land doesn’t forget about progress and includes many of the features found in modern Mario games.

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Oblivion was quite effective at smothering any desire I might have had to play other Elder Scrolls game. Being the victim of poor character choices and frequently lost in the vast empty abyss that was the world of Oblivion (aptly named) made quitting quite easy and overlooking Skyrim easier still.

But then I finished Mass Effect 3 and found myself pining for something similar, something new. Skyrim seemed like the obvious candidate; though thinking about it now, Dragon Age probably would have been a closer match.

Whatever the case, Skyrim was recommended to me and, thanks to my fabulous friends, loaned to me, since I still couldn’t bring myself to purchase a copy. Seemed like the perfect solution as I expected to dislike the game and return it a week later.

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This must have been an incredibly difficult game to make. What a challenge to create a sequel to Diablo and Diablo 2, two of the most influential Action RPGs of our time. I do not envy them this task; especially considering the original development team was let go. It seems a rather unfair burden to place on an entirely new team.

No wonder the game was so long in development. Between the team changes and the restarts this caused, they probably could have released three games. But then this is Blizzard, which is notoriously slow; two is probably a better estimate. All things considered, I think the team did an incredible job. They released a fairly polished product after all; I just don’t think they made a Diablo Game.

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This review, like most of them, is long overdue. The delay is mostly owing to my abandoning the game quite early on and thinking I would come back to it. Well, to be honest, requiring myself to come back, since I didn’t feel I had played enough to give it a fair review.

But it’s become quite obvious that I am not going to return and the review will have to happen regardless. Any guilt I had, has been assuaged by the eight months of subscription I have paid for a completely inactive account – its time to be done.

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With Mists of Pandaria (MoP) about to go live, it’s clear that my blurb about Cataclysm is rather overdue. Not that much of it is relevant anymore, what with the recent MoP patch and all the changes to character classes. But there is plenty of time left to discuss (criticize?) MoP, onward to Cataclysm.

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Mass Effect 3 is the final installment in the critically acclaimed third person role-playing game series. BioWare, creators of the franchise and no stranger to controversy, had fans in fits about the overall ending of the game.

I must admit to being wildly curious about what had created all the fuss and though I studiously avoided spoilers, it was impossible not to anticipate something about the ending being different.

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For anyone looking to play a decent strategy game on iPhone (or iPad), look no further. Hero Academy has clinched the top spot in the strategy category and I can assure you it is merited. And the best part; its free to play.

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Draw Something, the latest mobile pictonary game from OMGPOP, has had its fifteen minutes of fame. But what a whirlwind fifteen minutes it has been. From its rapid rise to fame, even toppling the number one Angry Birds, to Zynga’s purchase of the struggling OMGPOP. The Atlantic Wire has a great article chronicling the strange story.

As for the actual game, it is basically two-player Pictionary. The first player chose a word from a selection of three, then proceeds to draw it on their mobile device. Once done, the picture is sent to the second player where they have the chance to guess what the word is. Once guessed, the roles are reversed. And though I love Pictionary, Draw Something just never seemed as satisfying.

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