Let the Bloodbath Begin!

Hello everyone, 

Scary here again and this time I am playing Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. I haven't really played through the entire game yet, but I wanted to give you my opinions and some ideas as to how it does well, and where it falls short. 

Needless to say, this game is very, very violent. Don't get me wrong, I love violence in video games, because it lets me be that person that probably wouldn't be accepted in our real world society so much. However, if you are the kind of person that doesn't do well with gore, blood, more gore, bone, tendons and more gore being thrown around every 1.3 seconds - this game probably isn't for you and you should turn away. 

Rated B, for BLOODY AS HELL.

Without giving too much away - you are a man who's family has been horribly slain. A dark power is returning to the land you call home, and it's up to you to stop it. But that's pretty much where the cliches end. 

Shadow of Mordor is a dark, unsettling story told in the universe of Middle Earth. It has some references to the Lord of the Rings content, but doesn't necessarily focus on it. It is its own thing, and that's good. 

The game is completely explorable from the very beginning; albeit you have to find, climb, and unlock "towers" to grant you a better view and a lay of the land as seen in games such as Assassin's Creed.

You can play at your own pace, go where you want to go, and do what you want to do. The map is often laden with the main story missions (outlined in gold); but, if you like, you can stray off the beaten path and go hunting for relics. Or, do the many side missions that give you the resources you need to improve your character through various perks and unlockable "talents".

This "Dark Lord" as he is called in the game is the one and only antagonist; however he has a massive army that you have to fight through in order to avenge your family and ultimately restore the peace. The people that haven't been brutally murdered by the dark lord Saron (if I spelled that correctly) have been turned into slaves to fuel the Urok war machine (kind of like orcs, but far uglier, and much more brutal). The many slave drivers as well as other captains and warchiefs in Saron's army are the ones you need to get through. The trouble is, they don't like to die much. And once you play the game, you'll know. It's called the nemesis system, and I will get into it a little later.

Along your path, you are haunted by a wraith - who you eventually bond with and team up with to perform amazing moves and help you make your way through the story. You and this wraith are somehow connected through the pain of loss, and you help one another down the long road ahead. I don't know the wraith's purpose towards the end game, as I have not yet gotten to that point, but I am sure the skills you learn from him will be invaluable to your success.

In Shadow or Mordor, the enemies (namely the captains) you face are as sinfully ugly as they are
vicious and brutal. Each has certain strengths, weaknesses, and a set amount of power. And, each vies for control and power through various activities with and against other would-be captains as they try to climb the hierarchy that is the chain of command in the army. A captain may hold a feast for his men to bolster their troops, or engage in a duel against another captain in a show of power. More often than not, if one of these captains is successful in his mission, or manages to kill you, he immediately takes a promotion to the next highest point of power where there was a vacancy. He grows in power, toughness, gains many strengths and loses some weaknesses, making him that much more difficult to take down. Keep in mind though that you don't have to be killed by a captain - if you are killed by just a regular Uruk, they too get promoted so long as there is a spot in the entry level rank - and become a captain themselves. Captains drop runes when you kill them - and the rune they drop depends on if you killed them using a weakness. If you killed them with a stealth attack, you will get a rune for your dagger. If you killed them from afar with your bow, you will get a rune for your bow. And if you killed them with a melee finisher, you will get a rune for your sword. However, you HAVE to kill them using one of their weaknesses to guarantee the rune for that weapon - else it will be random and at a lower quality.

So let's talk about the nemesis system. As I mentioned above, ranks are filled according to the successes and downfalls of captains. The only true way to really kill a captain is to cut his head off, or he will return stronger and more difficult to kill. The nemesis system works in such a way as to provide infinite (theoretically) replay value by forwarding time throughout the game (through different methods - some which are controlled by the player). Thus, allowing for endless ranks of captains to fill the voids of their fallen comrades. If you're not careful, all the men you killed can have their places filled and you will have to take out even more captains to get to the dark lord himself.

This is a cool, albeit sometimes annoying idea; as I find myself sometimes being overwhelmed and killed, and having just wasted several hours of my time because all those captains I had just killed got replaced. This does however, add a touch of realism and significant challenge to the game - which I really enjoy. And, getting that kill on the increasing difficulty of captains and other enemies feels great.

I know I just barely scratched the surface here, and didn't really go into very much detail. But that's because I feel that this game is worth playing, and that you really need to enjoy it for yourself to understand how well the game works.

Aesthetically the game is beautiful. Mind you, on the PC version, even a $5000 rig will struggle with Ultra settings, as they are unbelievably high in texture and shadow quality. The audio fidelity is equally as impressive with a subtle but noticeable score and extremely well done voice acting. The action is vicious and in your face, but the stealth system allows you to go more at your pace, and enjoy the view of the scenery along the way. The combat is very Batman-ish and provides satisfying yet challenging combat with a variety of weapons, enemies, and moves to learn and pull off.

I must say that the difficulty ramps up quite a bit so don't charge into story missions head-on without doing a few quests on the side; although it is completely possible to just power through the story if you are patient enough.

Thanks so much for reading, and let me know what you thought of Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor.

Till next time, stay classy.


Scary

Hearthstone

So I've been playing a lot of Hearthstone lately. And I must say I am really enjoying it.

Since I don't have a lot of time, I play more casually than anything; but having said that, I've managed to climb up to rank 16 in the ranked mode- which is not too bad for someone who is really unfamiliar with the meta game and who doesn't yet have all the cards.

I realized recently that the warlock and priest are two of my favorite heroes from HS, and that the warlock especially has been winning me quite a bit of games lately. If you're not familiar with CCG's or TCG's - or really, just about any other card game; you know that card draw is very important. It's not everything, as strategy and curve with a bit of luck on the side tend to round out the things that you need to win a game. But having card draw is extremely important, because with card advantage on your opponent, you have a much greater chance of having what you need in hand, instead of waiting for that one miracle board sweeper or utility card.

I currently play a mid to late game warlock deck which employs two different themes. These work fairly well with one another, so let me tell you a bit about what I am doing here. First, I try to saturate the board with good value for mana deathrattle creatures. Creatures such as Undertaker, who gets larger each time a minion with deathrattle is played. Zombie chow is also great early game, and mid game too if you can keep him alive (because bringing your opponent to 10 health and having him within burst range is nothing when he kills your Zombie Chow and gains 5 health). There are several other 1-3 drop minions that do very well and synergize well with the rest of the deck. Unstable ghoul helps to trigger deathrattle on some of your minions when it dies, drawing you cards or creating taunting oozes with sludge belcher. It also damages your opponent's minions, making it easier to pick them off and retain board control.

The real gem of this though is the Stalagg and Fuegen combo, with a void terror and Baron Rivendere. Stalagg's deathrattle says if Fuegen also died this turn, summon thaddius, which is an 11/11 monstrosity of a minion. Fuegen has the same deathrattle effect, but aimed at Stalagg. The cool thing is, if they BOTH die, at the same time preferably, you get TWO thaddiussssss. Thaddiusi? I don't know. Anyway, if you have Baron out, you get FOUR. Because now their deathrattles trigger twice!

So can you imagine the feeling of dread in your opponent when this happens? It's glorious. Mind you, also very difficult to pull off. But if you can do it, it's insane. And at this point it's pretty much guaranteed you're going to win the game. Unless of course your opponent plays Deathwing. Then you're screwed, sorry. :P

As you can see, it's easy to win when you have THAT much power on your side of the board. The trick is getting to this board state :)

I'll be working on putting out some HS gameplay, so keep your eyes pealed on the channel.

Thanks for reading, and stay classy. :)


Scaryspikes

Back At It.... Again!

Hey everyone,

So after what I would describe as a lengthy time in hiatus, I have freed up some time in my week and will now be able to return to my blog and YouTube channel.

I want to take an opportunity to apologize to everyone for having left with no notice; I assure you that my job was extremely demanding as of late, and due to my seniority I was not able to really take any days off.

As of now, I have one day off, every week, that I can use to commit myself to producing content again.

There is some bad news however - you won't be seeing much fancy editing or graphics in my videos, as I still don't have a huge wealth of time to edit them and make them super pretty (and it does take quite a bit of time to do that). The good news is if you enjoyed the content before, you'll continue to enjoy it as the quality will not change.

I bet there are a good number of people that don't crawl YouTube on a regular basis and for you, I hope the blog will suffice. I will try to write about the things you want to hear about, including some of my experiences in gaming, my thoughts, reviews, and other gaming related content.

Thanks for reading!

-Scary

Weekly Content

Hey everyone,

This is a short update about the weekly content you see on my channel.

As of right now, I am extremely busy with work. I've worked about 3.5 weeks straight now, without a day off. This makes it really hard to put out content at regular intervals, as sometimes I am more busy than other times .

So I just wanted to update you that I will still be putting out great content here and on the channel, but it will be of a more casual nature. You won't see a new episode of a series every Friday for instance. It may vary by one or two days, but it will still be uploaded. Basically, I can only generate content when I have the time to do so, so that's what I'll have to do.

I'm working this much by choice. I need to save a significant amount of money for some important events this year, and so I need to focus on work primarily. However I hope you can understand and continue to follow me as I produce great content for you; here, and on the channel.

If you like what you see, please be sure to subscribe to the channel and follow the blog for all the latest updates, news and content.

Thanks again, and see you soon.



Stay Classy,


Scaryspikes

Thief: First Impressions

Hey everyone,

So I finally got a little bit of time to spend with Thief, and I wanted to give you my first impressions of the game. If you were reading any of my previous posts about the game, you would have known that I was a big Thief fan, and when Thief: The Dark Project first came out I was all over it.

Not only that, but I was spending a lot of my parents' money on computer parts so that I could run the game to begin with, which they didn't really like.

Nevertheless, if nothing else, this is one of those titles. The new Thief will inevitably get the geek inside us all to splurge on new hardware, as it can really take advantage of it.

Since we're already talking about it, let's start with Graphics.

Graphics

The graphics in Thief are beautiful. That's not to say they don't make the game hiccup here and there, or just make it outright jerky. Sometimes, especially on higher settings, the game does slow down. But that's to be expected when you're stressing your hardware to as much as it can handle.

Aside from the great aesthetic appeal, you have a plethora of settings for the graphics in the options menu. Almost any technical aspect of the graphics system in the game can be customized to your liking, and to the capability of your PC.

Beyond this I am happy to report that the game's looks tend to immerse you in the gameplay. You feel like you are a stealthy predator, like the shadow is your friend, and the light your enemy. The light of the moon pops out of the night sky, as if to mock you. The wet stone wall ahead reflects light perfectly and warns of possibly hazards around the corner. And a simple puddle of water reflects and refracts light just as it would in the real world, showing the appropriate amount of cobblestone street textures from below. It's nice that they really paid attention to the details, because it's really the little things that make an experience great.

Sound

Unlike the graphics, I found the sound in Thief to be slightly sub-par. It's amazing to see how the graphics do so well to immerse you into your role as a "master thief" and yet how the sound then falls flat to deliver some equilibrium in your complete experience.

I found that many of the game's sound effects were flat sounding. They didn't have that depth, that umph, that made you believe that what you were listening to was real. Even if it isn't.

During combat, swinging your blackjack or shooting an arrow - the sounds were very generic and there wasn't much variety in the effects heard after repeating similar actions. Other sounds such as picking a lock or opening a safe or drawer sounded equally flat and got boring after a while.

However, the sound of your own footsteps while sneaking or walking were done very well. There are a number of environmental hazards such as glass; that, when stepped upon, create a greater amount of noise and may alert guards. This was a big relief after listening to the monotonous and dull combat sounds as it helped to give greater depth and focus importance on how you approached certain situations.

It's easy to just pick a point and go from A to B without thinking. But what if there's glass in the way? Or a metal catwalk? If you want to remain stealthy, you have to choose to move slower, and know when to do it too. One wrong move can be the difference between pulling off a heist without being detected, and a sword through your back.

In addition I found the ambient sounds of the environment to be quite pleasing to the ear. It was yet another piece of the puzzle that when put together right allowed you to feel immersed in the world.

Gameplay

Here's where I was a bit disappointed in Thief. Mind you, I came to this game preemptively expecting a masterpiece. Although Thief does many things very well, it never really felt like a complete package when considering the playability issues.

Firstly, the combat is really wonky and clumsy. I know, you're not supposed to really fight in this game. I mean the idea is to keep your head low and rob people blind. But hey, when it does happen, and it will happen, you want it to feel ...I don't know... satisfying? rewarding? Insert an adjective here? It's not. It's just clumsy with the same swing animations over and over again, it feels and sounds like you're hitting a punching bag and when you do finally dodge and swing your way to victory, it feels like you just wasted 5 minutes. If anything, this is what really makes you avoid combat. Not that you shouldn't fight, just that it's better not to - for your sanity.

On top of that, the navigation in what's known as "The City" - the one big spawling city Garret used to call home is a nightmare. Having to go from map to world to map to world is just annoying. There's usually no clear way of knowing which way to go - just a bunch of trial and error. On top of this, the game doesn't even allow you to go anywhere you want - which kind of eliminates the notion of "choosing your own path" towards an objective. You're often either in a map, in a loading screen, or not playing.

There are several instances where I ran into invisible walls, which are probably the biggest cliche in gaming. Don't make it feel like open world if you're going to put invisible walls into the game.

I do however really like the sneaking mechanics, which I found work very well. The AI is not completely dumb-as-a-post stupid but they do have their moments getting caught on various environmental objects here and there. More often than not I find myself laughing even though I am really frustrated, but that's beyond the matter.

Stalking people, and making them freak out as you take out lights and guards around them is an incredibly awesome feeling. There's really nothing quite like instilling the feeling of hopelessness into someone before you finally take them out. Violence in silence is really what makes Thief a lot of fun for me. And though it's no Splinter Cell, it doesn't have to be. There's really a whole different idea to this game, and I think that when it works it works wonderfully.

I like the idea of being able to stalk, kill, and take what I want. That is a feeling I am glad I can still have in a new game that is, suffice it to say, not entire un-problematic.

Stealing from chests and drawers is one thing, but getting away after pickpocketing a completely oblivious guard is super satisfying. It doesn't really look badass, but at least it feels badass.

I found that the side missions were a little bit more interesting as the main story doesn't really draw or hold my attention. That's not to say it's bad, it's just not great.

There are so many difficulty settings however that it makes this one of the most replayable games I think I've ever played. You can initially choose one of three difficulty levels, however, you can use custom settings which give you bonus points on global leaderboards once turned off.

For example, Thief's focus mode (an alternative vision mode that allows you to see things in the environment that you can interact with) can be turned off. This gives you not only greater difficulty in the game overall, but also gives you points towards your score on the global rankings, which means that the best thieves are probably really good thieves. Relying less on aids and hud readings and more on skill, patience, and cunning strategy.

The Verdict

All in all, though it does have some obvious shortcomings, I really enjoyed Thief. I don't think it's for everyone, but it does offer quite a bit of satisfying gameplay that can be re-played at higher difficulty settings and offer a new-ish experience.

If there were less (no) loading screens, a true free roam world, better sound and just a better feeling of having an impact on the world you inhabit, Thief would have done very well for itself. By my standards, it's not a terrible game by far, and does many things very well.

By history's standards....

...It's no Dark Project. 

Thanks for checking out my first impressions of Thief. If you like what you see, please come back for more and make sure to check out my YouTube channel for awesome weekly content. Please share, like, subscribe - and as always,

Stay Classy.



Scaryspikes

Friday Night Magic - Episode 3 - Hunter's Strength

Hey everyone,

As promised, here's the next episode of Friday Night Magic.

Thanks so much for your patience, and once again I am sorry for posting the video so late. Sometimes I have a very limited amount of time (especially now with work).

However, I am going to try to make videos a little ahead of time, since doing them live is not as viable with my current schedule. That means there may be games of FNM happening mid week, but at least the videos will be on time for you.

Thanks again for watching, and please remember to share, like, and subscribe. And as always, stay classy.


Scaryspikes

Friday Night Magic Episode 3 Update

Hey everyone,

Just a quick update on the status of the third episode. It's done. The last few touches have been put on the video and it is now rendering, which can take about an hour or so. The video will then be uploaded, and hopefully up without a hitch on YouTube overnight.

I will be away for most of Sunday afternoon/evening but I will have a look when I get home from work to make sure everything went smoothly. If you run into any issues with the video please let me know and I will make changes ASAP.

Again apologies for the late video, super busy with work, and for now...that's what's paying the bills. Thanks a lot everyone.



Scaryspikes

FNM Delay

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to let you all know that unfortunately, this week, FNM is going to be delayed until Saturday night through Sunday morning. The reason for the delay is that recently I've started to bartend on a part time basis to make a little extra cash on the side. As a result of some required training, my hours have been weird this week, and I've had to come in on somewhat of an on-call basis to get the training out of the way. That meant having to work at my first job until mid afternoon today, and then spending the evening at the bar.

Thus as you can imagine, I was not able to do FNM tonight.

Thanks in advance for your understanding and support, and I will do my best to get the next episode of FNM out to you later tomorrow evening or Sunday morning.

Thanks again, and keep an eye out here on the blog for all the latest news and updates. As always, your shares, likes, and subscription really mean a lot to me, and are very much appreciated as I continue to create awesome content for you.

Have a great weekend everyone, see you tomorrow night.

Cheers,


Scaryspikes

Let's Play Xcom: Enemy Unknown - Episode 1 - Ground Zero

Hey everyone,

Check out the latest Let's Play Series - XCOM: Enemy Unknown!

This has got to be one of my favorite games, based on the 90's classic XCOM: UFO Defense. XUD was an unforgivably difficult game, and I am happy to report that Firaxis has captured the spirit of the original in this epic of a remake.

Please check out the Let's Play Series and follow me as we discover why the aliens came, what they want, and what they're going to do. One thing's for sure, we're not going to wait around to find out.

As always please share, like and subscribe if you like what you see, share your comments with me and everyone else watching, and of course, stay classy :)

Enjoy!

Scaryspikes

Stay in the Shadows...

Hey everyone,

Well friends the time has come. Thief (the reboot) is now finally available from Steam. Here's hoping Eidos Montreal and Square Enix have pulled it off. I'm going to be checking it out and offering my first impressions soon.

When you can't find any shadows, make your own.

Garrett, the Master Thief, steps out of the shadows into the City. In this treacherous place, where the Baron’s Watch spreads a rising tide of fear and oppression, his skills are the only things he can trust.
Even the most cautious citizens and their best-guarded possessions are not safe from his reach.
As an uprising emerges, Garrett finds himself entangled in growing layers of conflict. Lead by Orion, the voice of the people, the tyrannized citizens will do everything they can to claim back the City from the Baron’s grasp. The revolution is inevitable. If Garrett doesn’t get involved, the streets will run red with blood and the City will tear itself apart.

Garrett never paid the price for anything… until now.

Features:

• YOU ARE GARRETT, THE MASTER THIEF 

Step into the silent shoes of Garrett, a dark and lonely thief with an unrivalled set of skills. The most challenging heists, the most inaccessible loots, the best kept secrets: nothing is out of your reach. 

• THE CITY: YOURS FOR THE TAKING 

Explore the sick and troubled City, from its shady back alleys to the heights of its rooftops. Sneak into rich houses, Infiltrate the best-guarded mansions and lurk in every dark corner… unnoticed and unsanctioned.

• CHOOSE YOUR APPROACH 

Leverage Garrett’s arsenal to take down guards with your blackjack, shoot one of your many arrow types or use your newly acquired focus abilities to manipulate the environment and outsmart your enemies. What kind of master thief will you be? 

• UNPRECEDENTED IMMERSION 

Become one with the world thanks to ground-breaking visual elements and a truly tactile and visceral first-person experience. Through jaw-dropping Next-Gen technical possibilities, Thief delivers unprecedented immersion through sights, sounds and artificial intelligence.

I hope you guys enjoy this game as much as I (hopefully) will. More coverage on this soon. Until then please share, like and subscribe for all the latest :)  And as always, stay classy.


Scaryspikes

Up Next: Xcom: Enemy Unknown

Hey everyone,

Been a very long week for me as I have worked the last 7 days straight. But I'm glad to be announcing that coming this week will be a new installment in the Let's Play Series - Xcom: Enemy Unknown!

Xcom: Enemy Unknown is a throwback to the original Xcom game way way back in the early 90's. This was a tactical, top down turn based strategy game which was absolutely unforgiving in difficulty, punishing players for making even the smallest of mistakes.

Firaxis and 2K are bringing it back to the mainstream with Enemy Unknown, and I am happy to say it can feel just as challenging. Of course the game has been out for a little while now, and has also seen the release of some DLC, Enemy Within - which presents a host of new features as you basically play through the same campaign again. Fortunately the consensus seems to be excellent, and even though it feels a little repetative to have to play through the same campaign again, there's enough new in there to keep you engaged and having a great time.

For now, I want to focus on the base game, as that's what I've had the most experience in. So we're going to start off with some early game, and then move a little further into the story as we uncover why the aliens are here and what it is that they want.

Stay tuned for that and even more awesome content here and on the channel, be sure to share like and subscribe and as always, stay classy!


Scaryspikes

Friday Night Magic - Episode 2 - Masks of the Dimir

Hey everyone,

Thanks for joining me last night in Magic 2014 DotP! It was a pretty decent turn out and the games were a lot of fun.

With that being said, make sure to join me in Magic 2014 every Friday night at 10pm eastern, for a chance of appearing in the next episode of Friday Night Magic; and, make sure to check out each new video of the series which is uploaded every Friday night or Saturday morning.

In this episode I am playing the Masks of the Dimir deck, a sneaky control type deck with some card draw, discard and a few combat tricks.

Thanks again for watching, please remember to share, like and subscribe and as always, stay classy :)


Scaryspikes

Friday Night Magic - Round 2

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to thank everyone who came out to play Magic tonight. The next episode of Friday Night Magic is being edited as I speak and I'll be uploading it sometime tonight, or tomorrow - whenever it's done.

Keep your eyes peeled and keep it locked here to SSP Gaming for all your gaming needs. More great content to come in the next week, as well as a brand new let's play and another episode of FNM.

Of course, join me next Friday yet again as I play a new deck in Magic 2014 on Steam. Games start at 10pm eastern, be there for a chance of appearing in the next episode of Friday Night Magic!

As always, share, like and subscribe for all the latest news and updates and awesome content here and on the channel.

Stay classy :)


Scaryspikes

Let's Play Rift Episode 3 - Gameplay (PvP, PvE)

Hey everyone,

Episode 3 is out so check it out! Share, like, and subscribe for all the latest from SSP Gaming.


Stay classy!



Scaryspikes

Updates on Channel Content

Hey everyone,

It's Thursday night and the weekend is only a day away. Fortunately there's a truckload of content coming your way before we even hit the weekend - here's what's happening:

Let's Play Series

The Let's Play Series is going to be rounded off tonight with the final episode of "Let's Play Rift". In this final episode you can expect to see some PvP and PvE action, an overview of the Instant Adventure system within Rift as well as scenes from a late level 20 dungeon.

Friday Night Magic

As usual, fire up your copy of Magic 2014 and join me this Friday night for some FNM action on Steam. I'll be playing three games, and uploading the video on Saturday. Make sure to be online at 10pm Friday night for a chance at appearing in the next video in the series.

Upcoming Game Review and Let's Play

I am going to be working on my review of Brutal Legend as talked about before. Also, I am considering several titles for the next spot in the Let's Play series, and I'd love your suggestions as to what you'd like to see next. If you have a modern or classic favorite game that you'd like to see covered, let me know in the comments of the videos on the channel or here on the blog, and be sure to subscribe to get all the latest content.

As always, keep it locked here to SSP Gaming for all the latest, and keep your eyes peeled on the blog for news and updates about new content happening on the channel.

If you enjoy the content on the blog and the channel, please be sure to share, like, and subscribe, and as always, stay classy.

Scaryspikes

 

 

 

Thief - Gameplay Trailer

Hey everyone,

If any one of you have heard of the game Thief from way back when, you'll know what's happening here. This is the reboot of the classic, which for me was one of the best games ever made. It required skill, patience, and precision, and if any of the things that made Thief great back then come back in this reboot, this game will also be great.

Let's hope Eidos Montreal and Square Enix can pull it off.

I've been a long time fan of Eidos, with titles like Deus Ex, who can afford not to be? They are a talented studio, and one that I feel still sticks to the old roots of video game making. Many of the same skills that you need to play games, you also need to make them.

They can't be rushed, pushed out the door to meet some deadline and rake in the cash from unsuspecting gamers who have high standards for their $60.

Nevertheless, from what I've seen of Thief so far, it looks promising and I plan to cover it on the blog and the channel. So, as always, keep it locked here to SSP Gaming, stay classy, and enjoy the Thief Gameplay Trailer.



Scaryspikes

Let's Play Titanfall Closed Beta - Pilot Training

Titanfall gameplay!



Welcome to Titanfall, Soldier. Check out this training video to get you ready for the battlefield.



Dismissed!

Titanfall: First Impressions

Hey everyone, 

Well, I have to say I am a little more than surprised. Titanfall has turned out to be a hell of a bombshell so far, literally. 

I want to briefly share my experiences with you about the beta, my impressions, and what I think the future holds for Titanfall. 

First Impressions

At first glance, Titanfall (for me, anyway) was a desperate attempt on EA's behalf to clean up their image and show people they're still capable of being (at least) a good publisher. I'm happy to report that I don't feel the same way anymore, after playing the beta for some time. 

I do feel like Electronic Arts, as a publisher and even as a developer, needs to understand the dynamics of the gaming industry and change/adapt with it, to meet the needs and expectations of gamers, who let's face it- are paying their bills. Milking people for money year after year with re-iterations of their most popular franchises and making us feel like at times they weren't even trying is NOT the way to do that. 

However, working on a project with a talented and ambitious developer; and more importantly, cooperating with them and working on putting out a product that is solid, engaging, fun, fresh, and worth it, is the way to go. Titanfall to me is showing that there's still hope.

My overall first impressions of the game are fantastic. Sure there were a couple of very minute bugs, not even noteworthy at this point- but the game was engaging. It gave me a sense of urgency to help me team when they needed it most, it made me sit on the edge of my seat as I was flanking the enemy squad while being chased by one of their titans. It was just, well, exciting. And I can't remember the last time a game made me feel like that. 

I am (at least in part) now a firm believer that there is nothing fresh left and what we get are going to be re-makes of things that have come before, but clearly that is not the case. 

The parkour style movement of the pilots gives you the ability to outmaneuver your opponents, flank enemy positions, and get into firing range of a titan - a massive robotic exoskeleton suit called in and piloted by players. The titans themselves have unique movement characteristics which you have to use if you want to survive. A clever auxiliary weapon system (when used properly) can mean the difference between life and death of your titan while you're reloading... It's very fresh, it demands a bit of skill and practice, and it's just a hell of a lot of fun. And when you do get good at it, it's very rewarding. 

Gameplay

Let's start off with the visuals. The visuals during the gameplay were initially very laggy and the framerate was absolutely terrible. However, once I finally reduced the texture quality from insane to high (which still looks pretty damn great) it made a huge difference. Framerates for me stayed in the 60fps range even though I had all my other settings on high, running at 1920x1080.

Movement, weapon and combat animations for pilots and titans alike were fluid, responsive and satisfying. There was no texture pop in to speak of and a minute amount of screen tearing as I was playing with V-Sync disabled. 

The sounds were a joy to the ears. I am playing on an Astro A50 wireless audio system and I found that the quality of the various sounds from effects to music in the game were superb. The sound of emptying a clip into your enemy was greatly satisfying and sounded realistic to boot. The thunderous sound of a titan running straight at you, or even worse, chasing you from behind, is more than enough to get your heart beating and your adrenaline pumping, and almost instantly demands some kind of physiological response. It's almost euphoric- and I would continuously find myself jumping out of my seat - a new reaction every time - after having taken out the enemy titan, or sneaking up on a bunch of guys huddled up in a hole somewhere and taking each..and every one...out...with...a...pistol. 

Menus and UI

The menus and UI system in the beta are of a very basic, but useful nature. I am not sure if they are going to change for launch, but I would hope not. I like simple. Simple and effective. And that's what it is. It's easy to find the settings you want to change, change them and move on. No b.s. - and I think that's the way it should be. 

It's clean, appealing, and somewhat organized. Although I feel like some of the more advanced settings are very cluttered, and it would be nice if they separated them (such as Audio, Visual, etc) into different categories in (maybe) different areas of your screen as opposed to having them all in a list view.

Performance

For a beta, Titanfall runs beautifully. I am currently running a core i7 930 and two EVGA GTX 570sc in SLI mode. I have had no game ending bugs, no artifacts, or other major issues to speak of hardware wise. In my first match however, the inputs were extremely unresponsive, and I had to move my mouse a great distance in order to move a small distance. The screen would shake violently making it hard to see anything while moving. Fortunately that was a one time occurrence, and never happened again. The loading times were a bit longer than I was used to - but the detailed and engrossing worlds and environments that followed were worth it in the end. 

Design

Everything in Titanfall has this futuristic look to it. It kind of reminds me of Battlefield 2142 - which was a great game. And funny enough I also really enjoyed the titan gameplay - it was my favorite game mode. 

The way the character models of the pilots and titans are built is fascinating. It feels very futuristic, but also has the human element (such as being able to see a human face behind the armor in some loadouts) which makes it a little bit more believable and helps you to be immersed in the game a little more. 

The weapons, armors, and environments look very rich and detailed, and make me feel like the artists had great attention to detail during the (seemingly) painstaking work to create all of this. 

In the end it feels like they've hit the perfect balance of high tech but not over the top. 

Conclusion

I was not a believer that this game would be anything good. I never really believe any hype for any game, because anyone can say anything, and unless they back it up, only the naive are going to be buying it. 

However, I am so happy to see that this game is bringing a lot of fresh ideas to the genre, and hey, who knows, it might even reinvigorate it. Other publishers and developers should take an example from Respawn. It IS possible to come up with fresh ideas that will get people excited. All you have to do is TRY. And I hope that as a result, publishers like EA will give those developers the time and resources they need to make that awesome game they want to make. Don't always focus on the bottom line, the time table, the "we have to release this game before they release theirs". Competition is good, but not if it negatively impacts how the end user feels about your product, because then, nobody wins. 

Keep an eye out for more awesome content here at SSP Gaming, and more Titanfall coverage. 

As always, stay classy.

Scaryspikes

Happy Family Day

Hey everyone,

Here's hoping you have all been enjoying the content on the blog and channel so far. I've been working hard between two jobs and life at home to bring this to you, and your continued support, shares, likes, and subscribes are what really keep me going.

So, thank you. And please keep supporting me as I strive to bring you awesome gaming content in the future.

On that note, today I am going to spend some time with my family, as it's Family Day here in Canada. Most large businesses are closed and many people have the day off to spend time with their loved ones. What's funny (and scary) is how we always say we think of them and yet because of our busy day to day lives forget to call or just send a message to say hi. I've been a perpetrator of this particular phenomenon, as I have engrossed myself in my work, and my second job as of recent days. And, I've also spent countless hours perfecting the things I publish on the blog and the YouTube channel.

Even my friends are starting to wonder where I am.

Obviously, this could grow to a substantial problem if left unchecked.

So first and foremost, I want to apologize to those I have (inadvertently) neglected. I'm the kind of guy who wants to finish what he starts, and sometimes I put too much on my own plate and force myself to ride it out to the end. Being a perfectionist on top of that can make things worse, as it can make me lose track of time and the things around me.

Secondly, I want to say to anyone reading this post - learn from me and go see your loved ones today. Or call, or text, or whatever. Just get in touch and tell 'em you love 'em.

As you all know, I've been a gamer for life, and if there's any spare time in my schedule, you can be sure I'll be playing some kind of game here or there. But lately, outside of my work on the blog and channel, I haven't even had the time for that. Which kind of scares me. Because well, as I should always have time for the people I care about, I always had time for games, and now even that is starting to wane.

So with all that said, I'm going to try to really focus on my work, and on my blog and channel, and still provide you guys with the awesome content you probably already expect from me. At the same time though, I'm going to try really hard not to lose sight of what really matters, and always make time for family and friends.

And I hope you guys follow suit.

Happy family day, everyone. 


Scaryspikes

Friday Night Magic - Episode 1 - Firewave

Hey everyone,

Alright! So finally the updated version of Friday Night Magic Episode 1 is live on YouTube. Hopefully it will go over smoothly while processing like the last one did.

Enjoy, and keep your eyes peeled for TITANFALL beta footage! Coming soon!

Stay Classy :)



Scaryspikes

Way to Go, Chaps! (Titanfall Update)

Huzzah!

Hey everyone,

I have some fantastic news.

In a surprisingly pleasant turn of events, without having to jump through the hoops I mentioned in my last post, I have just received another e-mail from Electronic Arts. Perfect timing just as I was coming home from work.

They have seen the error of their ways (as I am sure countless people bitching about not having the proper key may facilitate this) and they have sent me the proper key for the Titanfall Beta! Wonderful! Along with the key were some apologies for the bugs, and now, all is forgiven.

So, with that said, I am going to be DIVING into this beta to hopefully bring you as much coverage as I am allowed to (which I still have to do a little bit of research on).

Hopefully I can get some videos up soon, but I still need to figure out how much I can show. Hopefully, it will be a reasonable amount.

Also a small update on the FNM video - the great news is that episode one made it onto YouTube with no problems to speak of and monetized right away, which is great! Way to go guys. The downside was there were some sync issues in the video that were not ironed out (as a result of rendering, for some reason) and seeing as how I am the perfectionist video game coverage guy that I am, I decided to take it down and re-render the whole thing. It should be up tonight.

From now on, coverage on YouTube will consist of smooth frames running at 30 per second, at 720p resolution.

Anyway, guys, I am super excited to be bringing you this news and even more so to be diving into the world of Titanfall Beta. Please keep it locked right here to SSP for all the latest and greatest gaming content, and please subscribe and follow my channel and blog.

Thanks for your patience as I iron out the kinks, and special thanks to the first few subscribers who are sticking with me as time goes on and both the channel and the blog continue to grow, and get better.

Stay extra classy this weekend, and keep in touch!


Scaryspikes

/facepalm @ EA

So much for Titanfall.

Hey everyone, 

So I just got an e-mail from Electronic Arts. Not that I am crazy about their games since they've been milking each of their franchises to dehydration, but hey. It was about the Titanfall beta request I put in.

I really wanted to check it out because it was a fresh game, not just some reboot or Battlefield 15 or whatever. 

I got into the beta! Just as I was expecting too. Not trying to toot my own horn, but I have had my EA account for about a decade, if not more. I have a number of games purchased and have also tested games in the past. So, naturally, I thought I would get in - and I did. 

Awesome right? 

No.

EA found a way to mess things up, again.

The code they had sent me was for the Xbox One. Which I do not have, nor ever plan to buy, or rent, or borrow from a friend, or pick up from the gutter by a house of an angry gamer who hates Microsoft more than I do, deciding to throw it through the picture window of his home because of his frustration with the Xbox Live service and hardware problems on the console....(deep breath) but that's another story. 

Yeah. I specifically noted during my beta signup that I wanted to participate in the PC beta and apparently I am not the only one who did so, and then received the wrong code in the e-mail.

Ok, it's all good, I thought. I'm just going to e-mail them, tell them what happened, and I am sure they will just apologize for a simple mistake, send me a proper code and be done with the embarrassment.

Nope. ^-^

Despite having posted on the official forum, saying that players affected by the bug should contact them, EA failed to mention that....

Their entire....help....website....is....completely....down.

Thus you CAN'T contact them, CAN'T get the proper code, and probably are going to waste a lot of time trying.

Now for the people that actually got through to the help site, and submitted a request. Anyone who has been lucky enough to do so and having reported back on some form of social online media has said (in unison and unanimous fashion) that they have not received the proper code within the 2 hour window promised by EA after having jumped through the hoops. In fact, they didn't receive anything. At all.

I'm going to stop typing now because I am wearing a path of destruction into my keyboard. But hey, if you have anything to say on the matter, leave a comment!

Stay classy.


Scaryspikes

Update for Next Week

Hey everyone,

Alright. So I have some good news and some bad news. Okay...mostly good news.

The good news is I am feeling a bit better and have managed to get enough energy together to finish the FNM video, Episode 1 - Firewave. It will be live tonight! However, I am not sure as to what time it will be live, as YouTube likes to throw curve balls at me as of late.

Please check out the channel, and keep an eye out on the video.

I am still considering re-making the second episode of Let's Play Rift, as I believe the length of the video may have something to do with YouTube's strange monetization and "Monitoring for Possible Review" problem. It's worth a shot, and I want to see if it will make a difference.

I'm not too bothered by this issue as I am not intending on making a living out of this blog and channel. However, being able to cover my bills with it is pretty viable, and it will help me out considerably. Maybe one day I might not even need a day job. Still, that's pretty far fetched at this point, and I need to focus on good content, not being worried about a few bucks.

Nevertheless, I haven't forgotten about my review video, which is in the works - but I will be focusing on my let's play series first, and running the FNM series every Friday night as a priority, since those series will be the bread and butter of the channel for the foreseeable future.

In the meantime I want to thank everyone who has been supporting me so far, and invite you to share the content with your friends as well, if you enjoy it.

As always, please forward any suggestions for future content to me, as I am open and willing to try new things. In the end I want to make sure of two things - 1) I am happy, 2) my viewers/readers are happy.

I know what you're thinking. But think of it this way instead: if I'm not happy, I won't be making any good content. And that will make you unhappy as a result :P

Thanks for bearing with me, and keep it locked to SSP Gaming for all your gaming goodness.

Stay classy. (And Healthy.)


Scaryspikes

FNM

Hey everyone,

Sorry for the delayed upload on the Friday Night Magic video from Magic 2014: Duels of the Planeswalkers. I managed to get some game footage recorded last night but was too tired to do any editing; I am really not feeling well the last few days.

Basically I've been in bed most of the time, and the rest of the time I've been snacking on cold and flu pills and water.

Hopefully I can get this uploaded tonight, but if not, I'll try to do it before the end of the weekend.

As for the next let's play video, it's on schedule for Thursday so far. Going to be taking a look at some warfronts and dungeons in Rift, as well as the instant adventure system, achievements, and more. Stay tuned for that.

Sorry about the delays - hopefully I'll start feeling better soon and can get back into the swing of things.

As always thanks for checking out the blog and channel, and keep it locked to SSP Gaming for more.


Stay classy.


Scaryspikes

Let's Play Rift Episode 2 - Starter Zone - Cleric

Hey everyone,



Let's Play Rift - Episode 2 is now live on the channel. Check it out and let me know what you think! I ran away with this one a bit, so it's a tad lengthy. Going to try to cut them down in the future to be about 15-20 minutes, and more concise. Still, this gives you a great idea of all the happenings in the starter zone, and shortly afterwards while questing in Silverwood.



Enjoy! Please remember to like, share and subscribe for more great content and stay classy!



Scaryspikes

lolwut?

I ain't afraid of no goat...

I just had to share this. I...it..I'm not sure what to say. I'll be back tomorrow, right after I've had a chance to get a good night's rest and clean the pants I just pissed.



Stay classy.



Scaryspikes

Full Steam Ahead

Hey everyone,

So I log in to Steam today to find out about this very cool new feature called Steam Tags.

I was actually hoping that this would come to Steam one day, as it has improved the way many of us use certain online services elsewhere on the "interwebs".

Tags are powerful, versatile, and reliable ways of finding stuff you like. In this case, it's games, lots of games. And I'm glad Steam is getting on the bandwagon here.

Apparently this is currently in Beta, as it should be while being implemented into the world's most popular digital content distribution platform for video games. I know, it makes sense for this to be here, and it should have been years ago. But the point is, because it's so personal, each of you will use it in a different way, and the system needs to be tested to basically see how to make everyone happy with the least amount of bugs possible.

Some cool features of the addition include:

• Tag Anything, Your Way

You can tag games or software in the Steam Store with terms that you think are appropriate, or apply tags that others have already suggested for that title.
Apply genres such as “Puzzle”, themes like “Military”, or attributes such as “Difficult”. Or, come up with entirely new concepts to apply in categorizing products.

• Browse By Popular Tags

Browse a new section of the Steam Store to discover games and software, organized by the most frequently used tags.
Plus, narrow your search to just products tagged with the terms you and your friends have applied.
Browse Popular Tags

• Browse By Tags Recommended For You

Browse by tags recommended based on the games you have played and software you have used recently.
Browse Recommended Tags

• Tag In Your Language

Tags will be categorized by the language they are entered in. So, if you have Steam set to Danish, you will see popular tags applied by other users that run Steam with the language set to Danish.

• Discover Powerful New Filtering

As you browse for products by tag, you’ll find new filtering controls to help narrow your search. Now you can easily find those single-player, platformer games, that run on Linux and have Steam Achievements, Steam Trading Cards, and Full Controller Support.

Very cool. So, keep an eye out for this new feature, now on Steam. I for one love this idea, as it really personalizes the way you search for, buy, read about and interact with the content on Steam. I'm even going to go so far as to say that Steam has really revolutionized the interactions we have with digital media, and done it in a fun, original, and very classy way.

I've always been a huge fan of Valve games, and their Steam platform, and I hope that they continue to supply us with quality time and time again. It's rare to see a company do so well after so many years, where so many others have failed their customers (cough, EA, cough) but Valve seems to be keeping it together, props to you, Gabe.

By the way, anyone else wondering when Left for Dead 3 is coming? Yeah. About that. ;)

Thanks for reading, and stay classy. :)


Scaryspikes

FNM Is Coming!

Hey everyone,

Magic 2014: Duels of the Planeswalkers is a collectible trading card game currently available for PC on Steam. It's based on the real world TCG by Wizards of the Coast - and it's a hell of a lot of fun. The great thing about the digital version of course is that it appeals to new players due to its simplicity yet satisfying and addictive game play and provides a wealth of information (mostly good) about the real world game. Also it's a lot cheaper than its real world counterpart - mainly attributed to the fact that you don't have to continuously purchase new cards. Although, you do have the option to purchase extra decks as DLC, if you so choose.

This is how I got into playing "paper magic" as it's called. Been doing it since May last year and loving it. Only thing I am not loving is the money I've spent so far ;) But that's all part of it I suppose.

In the process I've also met a lot of new people, some of which I even see on a regular basis either playing cards or having a few beers. Can't go wrong with that.

Anyway...

I'm really excited to be sharing this with you. FNM (Friday Night Magic) will be coming to SSP Gaming!

In fact, the first episode is already in the works. You can expect to see an episode every week from here on in. I'll be going through one deck a week and jamming it online every Friday at 10pm eastern time. Pick up your copy of Magic 2014: Duels of the Planeswalkers on Steam and join me every Friday night for a chance to appear in that week's video!

Also, I'm considering adding some videos of this to the Let's Play Series, a little bit later once I am done showcasing Rift.

Keep an eye out on the channel for more great content and on the blog here for all the latest updates. Of course if you enjoy the content please follow, like share and subscribe for all the latest and greatest from SSP Gaming. And as always, thanks for your support, and stay classy!

See you Friday night!

The Legend is Brutal...

How YOU doin'?

Das ist gut, ja?

I absolutely can't wait to play this game! And on top of that, to review it for you as SSP Gaming's first video review EVER!

Thanks to my buddy Mike who gave me the idea to do this in the first place. I was thinking for quite some time as to which game to make the first review around, and I had several great ideas.

The prince of darkness himself. Sharon!!

Some were super-modern and ultra popular games that would no doubt make the page views explode. Then I thought of some awesome classics that haven't been around for a while, but could still show the new games what's what. Ultimately, thanks to Mike, I decided to go with a fun, action adventure game, with elements of real time strategy and set in an alternate universe over the top heavy metal-centric world, featuring the likes of Jack Black and Ozzy Osbourne.


I'm talking of course about Brutal Legend by EA, for PC.

I have already picked this game up, and I as I said I can't wait to try it, and make the first ever review an awesome one. One thing's for sure, if this game is as awesome as I've heard it was, my face will melt, my eyes explode and my ears bleed - usually the same symptoms experienced when listening to Metal Mike.

Keep it locked right here to SSP Gaming for all the latest, and check out the channel for more awesome content. Follow, like, share and subscribe - and of course, stay classy.


Scaryspikes

Update: YouTube Copyright Infringement Notice & New Video

Hey everyone,

Today I get an e-mail from YouTube. It's about my channel.

A few days ago, I decided to dispute the claim by AdRev for a Third Party concerning my first Rift Let's Play video. Apparently, according to them, I had used copyrighted material and at first the video wasn't even playable as a result.

Well, it appears they have now released the claim, so I'd like to take the opportunity to thank them for that. It's important to have as little barriers as possible when generating content for YouTube, as it can already be pretty stressful to meet timelines and put out great content at the same time.

I also want to thank all of you, for being patient with me as I start to roll out more content. Fortunately today as I came back from work I realized that next week's video has finished rendering. This video will be episode 2 in the multi-episodic Let's Play Series. Here's a small preview of what you can expect to see:

• More info on Rift's soul tree system
• UI tips
• Basic info on the Cleric and Cleric abilities
• Leveling up in the starter zone (Mathosia)
• Leveling up in the Silverwood zone 
• Story quests
• Carnage quests
• Rifts
• Basic info on the Cleric and Cleric abilities
• Towns, Capital Cities and Portals
• And more :)

So with that said, keep it locked here to SSP Gaming for all the gaming goodness you could possibly want! 

Stay classy. 

Scaryspikes

What To Watch

Hey everyone,

Coming Thursday February 13

New Let's Play Series video for Rift (Episode 2) is ahead of schedule and should be ready by midweek next week. If you're enjoying this series, I'd really value your input as to what kind of content you'd like to see covered in the videos to come. Maybe you like warfronts, or dungeons - it's up to you; just leave me a comment below or on the channel. I'll try to get a little bit of everything in there, but ultimately I want to produce content you're going to enjoy watching. Just let me know.


Also going to start working on the first review video, as well as try to get an episode of Friday Night Magic (Magic 2014: Duels of the Planeswalkers) out to you guys by the end of next weekend.

The early going is usually a bit slow, as I try to assemble various templates I will use in my editing suite for future videos. But as I keep making templates, videos in the same series will be much easier to make and therefore a bit less time consuming for me - that's a good thing. :)

Just finished listening to my buddy's radio show (see post below) and I am ready to hit the sack.

If you haven't yet visited the channel, go ahead and check it out now. Make sure to subscribe for all the latest content on the channel. Also a good idea if you missed the first Rift video in the Let's Play Series - which is on the channel now.

As always, if you enjoy the content please like, share, follow and subscribe and keep it locked to SSP for more gaming goodness.

Stay classy, and good night.


Scaryspikes

Metal Mike

Hey everyone,

So you heard there's a video coming next week. What I didn't tell you is that I am also working on my first review, which is going to be for....well, keep reading.

Right now all you need to know is something about a friend of mine at work, who goes by "Metal Mike". Aside from being a really chill guy, I also recently found out that Mike runs a radio show online every Sunday night at 10pm over at Metal Nation Radio.

I had some time last Sunday so I tuned in. Gotta say I was pleasantly surprised. If you like practically any kind of metal, especially the shit from the good old days, you owe it to yourself to check out his show.

When you get there, log in to the chat and join us. We'll be there at 10pm eastern time tonight. Make sure to click on your name, which will allow you to name yourself whatever you want to be called.

And of course, enjoy the show.

Mike has been a radio host for 18 years, and many of the songs I got to listen to on his show brought me back to when I first came to Canada, when I was growing up on the legends of rock and metal we still listen to today.

Anyway, head over to Metal Nation Radio and listen to Metal Mike, Sundays at 10pm-1am eastern time.

And....

Keep an eye out on the channel, as I will be reviewing BRUTAL LEGEND for PC!

Thanks Mike, for inspiring me to pick my first review, and for playing some seriously badass tunes. Keep up the great work.



Scaryspikes
SSP

Update: YouTube Copyright Infringement Notice (Rift Let's Play)

Hey everyone,

This is an update about the notice I received after uploading a video with footage from Rift, as part of the let's play series I am producing to help new players out with the game, and overall give everyone else a new perspective from my point of view.

Firstly I contacted Trion Worlds. Unfortunately I have yet to receive a response, as I used the conventional e-mail method. Not sure if they respond to tweets faster :/

Then I found this.

According to this public note written about Rift by the CEO of Trion Worlds, they give permission, if not out right condone the use of their footage in let's play videos by YouTubers such as myself. He even went on to say that he considers people like that a part of their extended family. And of course, why wouldn't they? I mean, we're promoting their games after all, and we're not even asking for anything in return. (hint hint) ;)

Anyway, I used the link above in my dispute, explaining that according to this, I (and everyone else who does what I do) have permission directly from the CEO of Trion Worlds, to produce videos containing footage from their game.

Hopefully this doesn't have a negative impact on my account. I don't think it should, as it was not a content ID claim, and I believe I saw something that read "You are not being penalized..." somewhere near the copyright notice when I first read it.

I believe that YouTube has to cover their ass, because legal issues can be nasty. So yes, I do agree that there should be moderation in the scanning of copyrighted material in videos that are published for public viewing, much less monetization. But there should be a better system than these new policies that were just introduced. What if someone puts out a video every Friday night for instance? Well, now, you might not see that video until Saturday, even Sunday. Just because it's being processed and immidiately flagged should there even be a trace of anything that even looks like it may be copyrighted by someone.

The fact is that this is having a serious and negative impact, not just on the community, but also on the developers and publishers of these games. It's a waste of time and money for them to have to deal with each case on an individual basis, maybe even losing money from not having as much of their product out there as there would be if not for this new policy set out by YouTube. It hurts the community because there are people out there who love making videos, and they will feel discouraged now and probably produce less content as a direct result.

I am not bitching. All I am saying is that these three parties need to sit down, swallow their pride and talk like adults about the negative impacts of the new policies, and brainstorm a better policy that will keep the copyrighted materials in question safe, keep content flowing from producers, and for it all to be supported and backed by the developers and publishers who are getting some excellent PR brownie points and basically free promotion of their games.

Ok. Rant's over. Let me know what you think.

Also, a new video will be coming early next week so stay tuned, and keep it locked to SSP for more info.

Stay classy.


SSP

Magic.

Today, Born of the Gods, the new expansion for Magic: The Gathering was released. After work I headed over to my local store to pick up a box, and I've got to say it was very underwhelming at best.

The cards in this particular expansion are quite weak, and the variety of high value cards is significantly lower than expected, and especially so when compared to the Magic M14 Core Set, and Theros, which was released back in October 2013. 

However, all is not lost. 

After playing several games of Standard, and doing very well with my Big Boros deck, I thought of something. 

How awesome would it be to share the FNM (Friday Night Magic, an entry level tournament that usually happens every Friday night at many local game stores) experience with you guys on the channel? 

No, I don't mean actually take a camera into the store and start filming people like a proper creeper. Although that might make for some good reality TV, it's not really my style. 

If you've heard of Magic 2014 - Duels of the Planeswalkers you probably know what I am talking about. If not, keep reading. If so, keep reading anyway. (did you think you were going to get off that easy?)

Magic: The Gathering (or MTG as it is affectionately known by addicts everywhere) is a card game by Wizards of the Coast that can be played 1v1, or in a multiplayer format (2v2, or free for all). It's actually a hell of a lot of fun, whether you play it in the real world with real cards, or in Duels of the Planeswalkers (which is available on Steam for a very modest price).

Personally I love watching other people play as well, since it gives me insight into building new decks and lets me learn the strategy in use by the pros. 

So, I am going to be working on a Friday Night Magic series, where's I'll be playing a few games online each week. Prior to this I'll see if I can come out with some sort of tutorial or introduction for new players to get into it as I did. In fact, it was the computer game that got me into playing cards for real, and in the time I've played (since about May of last year) I have had tons of fun, met lots of people, and yes, spent a bit of money. 

Some people argue that Magic Online (WOTC's official Magic game meant to be the same thing as paper magic but in digital form) is better, but I don't believe in spending money for digital cards. At least in duels, you'll not only get a great introduction, but you unlock cards and decks as you play, with no additional cost (unless you want DLC.)

If you have any ideas about this, drop me a line. As always, keep it locked here to SSP Gaming for all your gaming pleasure - and check in at the blog for updates on new content going up on the channel. 

Stay classy.

SSP

Let's Play Rift Episode 1 - Character Creation

Going to wait to hear from Trion Worlds, but hey! Looks like the video is at least viewable now. Enjoy :)

Here we go...

The launch of the very first video on YouTube earlier tonight was a bit of a misfire, as YouTube immidiately recognized something in the video, flagging it down and making it unplayable.

I have been watching videos about this for some time now, and hoping it would not be happening to me. It looks like, however, that I am not the only game video producer on YouTube who is experiencing these issues.

According to a post on Steam, Trion Worlds said they were more than happy with people like me using their content in let's play and other types of similar videos, and consider us part of their "extended family".

I know they're not the ones at fault here, but we'll have to be patient while the claim is disputed and the video allowed to play again.

I e-mailed Trion Worlds about this tonight, and hopefully by the end of the work day tomorrow I'll have something for you.

Thanks for your patience while we wait to figure all this out.

Oh, and YouTube, if you're listening.... These policies have to change. Somehow. Sometime. To be fair for both parties. I realize there's a lot of people out there abusing the system, but come on, really?

Here's hoping for a speedy resolution.

Sorry guys >.<


SSP

Let's Play Rift!

Having just finished rendering minutes ago, the first Rift Planes of Talara Let's Play video is well on it's way to you now.

As with all future videos, this one will be available at up to 1080p for your viewing pleasure.

You can watch, rate, like, comment and subscribe here.

Please also follow the SSP Gaming blog for all future updates, news, and info. Thanks!

SSP

Elder Scrolls Online Beta Test

I am really happy to announce that I have been invited to a second testing event for Elder Scrolls Online.

Unfortunately, due to an imposed NDA, I am not able to say anything in particular about the game nor post any videos or screenshots as of yet. However what I can tell you is that from what I've seen, it appears to be very polished and I am looking forward to my second encounter, and eventually playing the game.

According to Bethesda, it is now possible to pre-order both versions of the PC game. You can go to their site here to do so. Here are the two versions currently available for pre-order:






Digital Standard Edition - $59.99 CAD
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• Game
• 5 Days early access
• Play any race in any alliance
• Scuttler vanity pet
• Bonus treasure maps
• One month of gametime

Digital Imperial Edition - $79.99 CAD
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• Play as an imperial in any alliance
• Added bonuses, crafting styles and gear
• Imperial white horse mount
• Mudcrab vanity pet
• Rings of mara (Complete the ritual of mara with a friend to gain experience bonuses when you play together)
• Everything in the Digital Standard Edition

Personally, I've never been crazy about digital collector's editions as I like to collect games in their boxes. Ok. Take it easy. I know what you're thinking. I'm not a hoarder. But I do really love and enjoy collecting special editions of my favorite games, because they often contain things that 1) I don't mind paying extra for, 2) I'll be able to actually collect and keep for a while, and 3) I can actually USE. Still, this seems pretty cool, and hopefully this game does very well.

For more info on these two pre-purchase options, go here.

More on this coming soon. Keep it locked to SSP.