A Month in Gaming

April 30, 2021 / Roger Edwards

I usually write this recurring post at the beginning of each month, reflecting upon my gaming activities over the previous thirty odd days. I refrained from writing an instalment at the beginning of April as I really didn’t feel I had much to say. However, now that a further month has elapsed, I believe sufficient has happened for me to continue. I do worry that these posts get repetitive and simply writing “ I played MMO A or B” is not sufficiently engaging. Luckily, I do feel that I have more to say this time round as I’ve broadened my gaming horizons recently and feel that I’ve done more, compared to other months. So let me begin with my return to console gaming. Something I haven’t done since 1999 when I purchased a Sega Dreamcast. After some procrastination, I’ve finally bought a Nintendo Switch and it has proven quite a hit not only with me but my grandchildren.

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categories / Gaming, A Month in Gaming, March, April, Nintendo Switch, MMORPG, LOTRO, Star Trek Online, Fall Guys, Call of Duty Warzone, 2021

A Year in Gaming

December 26, 2020 / Roger Edwards

Retrospective posts such as this can be a sprawling mess. There is also potential to cover the same old ground that I’ve covered in my monthly summaries “A Month in Gaming”. So I’ll try to be as succinct as I can. Firstly I won’t dwell too much on the iniquities of the video game industry as I’ve covered that elsewhere. Let it suffice to say that the notion of the “rock star developer” and the ethical publisher have proven false. Buying a triple A mainstream game is as morally compromised as buying a pair of jeans made by child labour. But let’s not get caught up in ethics. That’s another post. The pandemic meant that I, like many others, had far more leisure time this year and hence I spent that time gaming. It’s been a good year for video games publishers and the revenue has rolled in. Have I had fun while playing more games? Yes. The games have proven engaging and they also provide a lot to write about, so it’s a win, win scenario from my perspective.

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categories / A Year in Gaming 2020, A Year in, Gaming, LOTRO, Star Trek Online, Cyberpunk 2077, Call of Duty Warzone

A Month in Gaming

October 01, 2020 / Roger Edwards

September has been a difficult month. A family crisis and subsequent bereavement meant that gaming got pushed down the daily agenda. However, after the various chores and duties were done I did need some downtime and means to relax. Hence I did play some games in a limited fashion. Nothing fancy, just stuff like Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout and Gang Beasts, which are light-hearted and undemanding. I also took the time to log on to The Lord of the Rings Online test server and check out the preview of the forthcoming “mini-expansion”. Not only was this informative but it provided material for a blog post. But overall I didn’t really achieve anything substantial with my gaming throughout September. Gaming was relegated to being just a convenient diversion from the immediate problems I’ve been facing but as such, it did fulfil that role well.

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categories / Gaming, MMORPG, A Month in Gaming, FPS, LOTRO, Call of Duty Warzone, Horizon Zero Dawn, Elex, Spiritfarer, Toren, September 2020

Quickscoping

September 11, 2020 / Roger Edwards

Developers do like to gate access to the best gear and equipment in video games. Often there will be an achievement or deed required to unlock the object that you desire. Now I have no objection to this concept in principle. It’s just that every now and then, the criteria required to access an item is beyond my abilities. Take Call of Duty Modern Warfare/Warzone. Infinity Ward recently added the Rytec AMR to the game. It is a semi-automatic sniper rifle that can use thermite and explosive rounds. It has a significantly higher rate-of-fire than the HDR and AX-5, and performs better at range than the Dragunov. I’ve been itching to get my hands on this weapon for a while. However, to unlock it, you have to complete the following achievement. "Get 2 quickscope kills using sniper or marksman rifles in 15 different matches". For me this is effectively one of the labours of Hercules.

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categories / Gaming, FPS, Call of Duty Warzone, Quickscoping, Rytec AMR

A Month in Gaming

September 01, 2020 / Roger Edwards

I’m still somewhat shocked that August has been and gone. Even by 2020 standards it’s been an odd month. Due to illness in the family, my schedule has been turned on its head and subsequently there has not been as much time for gaming as I’ve previously enjoyed. However, I tried to put what time I had to good use. I attempted to return to the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online once again, to see if I could continue through the epic story. Sadly, the game has run into further server related issues, just as it did last month. Standing Stone Games community manager Jerry Snook was a little “snippy” in responding to players' concerns and at present there are no details regarding what the problem is and when it will be resolved. If this issue persists I suspect that it is going to do some genuine harm to both the player base and community relations. I hope matters improve for SSG and LOTRO over September.

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categories / A Month in Gaming, Gaming, MMORPG, RPG, FPS, Call of Duty Warzone, LOTRO, Fall Guys, GreedFall, August 2020

Social Gaming Alone

August 13, 2020 / Roger Edwards

This post started out as something completely different. I was simply going to write about a popular new game, how it came to my attention and my impressions and thoughts once I had purchased it. But while reflecting on one aspect of the game; the social element that stems from playing with friends, I realised I had more to say about this rather than just writing a review. But such is the nature of writing. In my experience my train of thought is seldom linear. So this post has now morphed into some musings about social gaming and how it is an integral aspect of modern game design. Because playing games with friends is often regarded as a superior experience to playing alone. At least by game developers. I think that the reality is more nuanced and dependent on the game in question. However, I do think that some games are better played with people you know and that playing on your own or in a PUG is less fun. Because that has been my experience of late.

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categories / Gaming, Multiplayer, Battle Royale, Social Gaming, Call of Duty Warzone, Fall Guys, PUGS

Choo Choo

August 08, 2020 / Roger Edwards

Adding a train to a Battle Royale game is hardly a new concept. Both Apex Legends and PlayerUnknown’s Battleground have successfully done this. So it was only a matter of time before one was added to Call of Duty Warzone. We were tipped off by the addition of train tracks last season. The launch of Season 5 this week finally made the “choo choo” a reality. I must admit, I’m quite surprised at how adding something as straightforward as a freight train has reinvigorated the game. That and the fact that you can now access the stadium seems to have really enthused the playerbase. Since Tuesday, whenever you play Warzone or one of its variants, a large number of players head straight to the stadium or the station where the armoured freight train starts its journey around the map. As a result of this, new players or those who aren’t so skilled in combat can navigate the outlying areas of Verdansk with a greater degree of freedom and safety. Everyone else is at either of those locations.

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categories / Gaming, FPS, Call of Duty Warzone, Train, Choo Choo

OK Gesture Removed From Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

July 08, 2020 / Roger Edwards

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone have a wealth of customisation and cosmetics options. One of which is the ability to assign hand gestures to your character. These can be used as a means of giving instructions when playing in a squad but more often they’re just used for fun or humorously. Players will use them after a kill or sometimes make them part of a trick shot, such as making a gesture with the left hand while firing from the hip with the right. I’ve not noticed a lot of use of gestures while playing nor do I use them myself. It takes all my concentration to stay alive. However, they do seem to feature in the various CoD clip shows I watch on YouTube, so they’re more of an affectation used by “top tier” players. Recently, developers’ Infinity Ward removed the OK gesture from the game. This minor change was not mentioned in the patch notes and the gesture was replaced with a new one called "crush".

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categories / Gaming, FPS, Call of Duty Warzone, OK Gesture

The Social Etiquette of Quitting a Multiplayer Game

July 03, 2020 / Roger Edwards

I was watching a YouTube video recently of someone trying the new Fennec SMG in Call of Duty Modern Warfare Multiplayer. It was a 5 versus 5 game and the player who made the video was clearly quite skilled. After quickly racking up multiple kills, 3 of the enemy team left mid game. He laughed and pointed out that they had “rage quit”, although that is just conjecture. They may have left the game for a multitude of reasons (a point I shall return to later). As ever this video began a train of thought which I would now like to explore. Multiplayer games often go hand in hand with a lot of informal social etiquette. Much of which stems from the original MMOs from two decades ago. However, these conventions are not in any way mandatory or enshrined in any games terms of service. Yet quitting in the middle of a multiplayer game is still frowned upon in certain quarters, often being seen as an act of selfishness and childish anger. However, like everything in life, I think it’s not as simple as that.

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categories / Gaming, MMORPG, FPS, Social Etiquette, Quitting, Multiplayer Game, Call of Duty Warzone

A Month in Gaming

July 01, 2020 / Roger Edwards

I stopped subscribing to The Lord of the Rings Online in June. I’ve always had a very cyclical relationship with this MMO and at present I feel I need a break from the games somewhat linear formula. Plus the new content scheduled for release centred around the wedding of Aragorn and Arwen doesn’t exactly sound enthralling. So I’ve left my primary character in Langflood and will return to the game later in the year when I feel the need to catch up with content. I have also abandoned the ongoing events in Star Trek Online as they’re getting too repetitive. I would like to see a new longterm story arc rather than just a continuous cycle of short term events and repeatable content. I don’t mind working towards a goal but it has to be something I want and the rewards offered in this MMO are getting a little too generic for my liking. I shall return to the game at some point as I’m a lifetime account holder and I’m curious to see how developer’s Cryptic overhauls the Klingon story arc.

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categories / Gaming, A Month in Gaming, June 2020, FPS, MMORPG, LOTRO, Star Trek Online, Elder Scrolls Online, Red Dead Redemption 2, Call of Duty Warzone

Call of Duty Warzone Season 4 and Battle.net Patch Servers

June 11, 2020 / Roger Edwards

Setting aside the debate regarding the rectitude of the Battle Pass system in Call of Duty Modern Warfare, I certainly enjoyed Season 3. I managed to find multiplayer games that suit my ability along with loadouts that allow me to hit something every once in a while. It was very much a learning process but from April 12th to June10th, I slowly improved my performance and re-acquainted myself with the fact that the FPS genre can be fun. I finally got to try a Battle Royale game and was pleasantly surprised by how accessible they are. However, (and there’s always a however) Activision Blizzard seem to be hell bent on losing the good will they seemed to have gained in recent months. Today’s release of Season 4 has been blighted by major performance issues with the patch servers. Furthermore, the developers still insist in removing certain maps and game modes to promote new ones. This “lottery” which results in a lack of choice for many players is especially galling when you’ve just bought the new Battle Pass.

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categories / Gaming, FPS, Call of Duty Warzone, Season 4, Battle.net, Patch Servers

A Month in Gaming

June 01, 2020 / Roger Edwards

I see by the financial data that is currently available and being pawed over by industry pundits, that April was a very good month for the video games publishers. Quelle surprise. Who would have thought it? The increase in leisure time has certainly meant that even I have had a greater opportunity than usual to invest in playing video games. And as I predominantly play the MMORPG genre that has proven to be a boon. Or at least it was initially. After two month plus that is fast becoming a bane. MMOs are great when you have new content to play through, stories to discover, goals to achieve and systems and items to advance. But once you’ve done all these things and find yourself doing dailies just out of obligation and a way to kill time, then it may well be time to move on to something else.

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categories / Gaming, A Month in Gaming, May 2020, FPS, MMORPG, LOTRO, Call of Duty Warzone

Is the Battle Pass Just as Egregious as Loot Boxes?

May 26, 2020 / Roger Edwards

I bought and started playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare on the 13th of April when it was on sale. I purchased the game via the Battle.net launcher and not through a third party key seller. The game includes a Single Player campaign, Multiplayer and Co-operative gameplay as well as the new Warzone which includes various versions of the popular Battle Royale mode. Call of Duty Warzone can also be downloaded separately for free, without the need to buy the base game. Due to the recent controversies surrounding the use of loot boxes as a business model, Activision have instead implemented a Battle Pass system which is tied to the games “seasons”. A season runs for about 50 plus days. The current one (season 3) is scheduled to end on June 2nd. Here is the official blurb regarding how the Battle Pass system works.

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categories / Gaming, FPS, Battle Pass, Call of Duty Warzone

Call of Duty Warzone Matchmaking

May 16, 2020 / Roger Edwards

I’ve been playing Call of Duty Warzone for about a month now and have documented my progress through the game and my attempts to improve my performance. It would be generous to categorise me as a distinctly average player. But I don’t worry too much about this as I am not alone. Not everyone is a high end player, although one’s perspective on this can be skewed as it is the most competent players that tend to dominate games. However, through simply playing CoD WZ regularly, despite my low body count per game I have slowly progressed through the ranking system. I am currently ranked 103 (the cap is 155). CoD WZ is generous with XP and each game’s score is not just based upon your kills. Your final position out of 150 other players is also a factor. There are additional marks for damage and a lot of other superfluous factors that the devs had added to ensure that even the weakest players move forward through the rankings.

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categories / Gaming, Call of Duty Warzone, FPS, Battle Royale, Matchmaking

A Month in Gaming

May 03, 2020 / Roger Edwards

April has been an usual month. The ongoing lockdown here in the UK (and elsewhere in the world) has afforded me more gaming time than usual. The policy of social distancing has reduced my caring duties to just three hours a day. Hence I and many others like me have much more leisure time available. I initially thought that this situation would be the perfect time to try some of the many of the games that I have stockpiled over the years. However, despite trawling through many titles, I still failed to find anything that immediately took my fancy. So I decided to take stock of my overall gaming activities and whether it was time to revise them and try something new. And by new I don’t just mean just buying a new game but taking a step out of my current comfort zone into a genre I don’t usually play. So that’s exactly what I did and the results have been very interesting.

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categories / Gaming, A Month in Gaming, MMORPG, LOTRO, Star Trek Online, Call of Duty Warzone, April 2020, Blapril

Play Your Own Way

April 20, 2020 / Roger Edwards

This post comes with caveats. In a perfect world, common sense would prevail and I wouldn’t have to list them. But we live in an age where some people take great pleasure in being professional contrarians and deliberately obtuse. So let me state clearly and unequivocally, I am not advocating that your gaming pleasure should come at the expense of someone else's. If you sign up for a 12 man raid and have a specific role to play, then do so to the best of your ability. Fooling around has consequences in such a scenario. However, that is not what is being discussed here. Nope. What I am suggesting is that you should take your pleasures, where you can find them. And if they have no tangible impact upon other players, then you are totally entitled to play your game of choice in a manner that suits you. It’s a simple axiom, yet it still proves to be very difficult for some gamers to comprehend and more importantly accept. Allow me to explain by means of an example.

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categories / Gaming, Editorial, Social Commentary, PVP, Call of Duty Warzone, Play Your Own Way

Call of Duty Modern Warfare

April 19, 2020 / Roger Edwards

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I originally climbed aboard the Call of Duty bandwagon in 2009 when Modern Warfare 2 came out. I enjoyed the campaign and the multiplayer so much I promptly bought the first instalment. I then stuck with the franchise up until 2013. I didn’t especially like Ghosts, although I enjoyed the option to play as a dog which was different. Overall I was somewhat tired of the FPS genre from then on and so didn’t keep up with any further releases. For me the best iteration of the game was Black Ops in 2010. The campaign had a densely plotted story and the multiplayer was extremely polished. The multiplayer maps were well conceived allowing for fluid and engaging gameplay. Six years on and I recently got an itch to play Call of Duty again. The soft reboot of the franchise with Modern warfare in November 2019 promised a return to basics. The recent inclusion of a battle royale mode with the release of Warzone finally clinched the deal. So I bought a discounted version of the standard game recently and dived back in.

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categories / Gaming, FPS, Call of Duty, Modern Warfare, Warzone, Multiplayer, Blapril, Call of Duty Warzone

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