Urgent Update - Cancellations

Hey everyone,

This is an urgent update to let you guys know that the Heroes of the Storm and Friday Night Magic videos are cancelled for this week.

I leave for China in 2 days and the stress and amount of work is mounting. Today I just discovered I have a serious emergency situation to deal with, that needs to be dealt with before I leave.

I am very sorry that I won't be able to put out content for the rest of this week, and essentially until I return, but there are some serious issues that I need to address and unfortunately they have priority at this time.

Thanks so much for your understanding, and see you back here in April :)


Best,

Scaryspikes

Rift Gameplay - Liberator

Hey everyone,

Thanks for joining me today as it's once again time for some more Rift gameplay!

In this week's iteration, we are taking a look at the Liberator - one of the new souls in the Dream Souls pack available on the Rift store and alternatively, also available on Steam. Make sure to have patron status to get a discount on your soul pack, as well as a handful of other benefits!

He's a hearty warrior who buffs and heals his allies over time, preferring HoT (heal over time) effects that hit the entire group as well as some damage mitigation spells.

The Liberator is very similar to the soul in last week's video in that typically, this kind of "class" is designed for damage dealing, and has been re-purposed to be of better use to his allies through a variety of unique skills and abilities.

He can be a very capable healer and once his abilities are mastered, it's hard to believe that a warrior is healing the group.

Once the video is available, it will be posted here and you'll get a notice if you're a subscriber. If you're not a subscriber, make sure to click here and subscribe for all the latest videos on the channel.

Also, feel free to join me in Rift!

In a Land Far Far Away... (Travel Notice)

Hey everyone.

Scaryspikes here. But you already knew that. Who else would it be? ;) Anyway...

As you may or may not have known by now - I am leaving the country for 3 weeks on March 27. I will be returning on April 17. I'm going to China, to travel, learn and shop - but also to get to know my girlfriend's family and friends and learn more about their culture.

As such, I will be absent from my blog and channel, and unable to write any posts or upload any videos. At first, I was thinking I could use YouTube's awesome scheduling service to upload 3 weeks of video and simply schedule it for the time it would have regularly aired.

Unfortunately, I have been met with setback after setback in many different shapes and forms; namely, being called in to my day job - a LOT. In fact I've been getting many more hours than expected in the last two weeks (and usually, the nature of my work dictates slow business in the first 3 months of the year). Further to this, I have had so many things to do and plan in conjunction with my retreat as well as handle things at home. The amount of work has led to peak levels of stress as I try to juggle everything in this very busy time.

With that being said, I have some bad news, and some good news.

The bad news is that I simply won't be able to write, record, produce and publish 4 weeks of scheduled video and blog posts between a week ago and when everything would have to have been ready. It's simply a monumental task for only one person. And as much as I wanted to do it for you all, I'm just not able to at this time. So unfortunately, the channel and blog will be fairly quiet during this time.

The good (great, *cough*) news however, is that I am not going anywhere (so to speak) All of you have inspired and motivated me to work harder and make better content for you, and to keep going above all else. I'm more excited than ever and hoping that my efforts will result in a fun, informative and entertaining channel that you all will enjoy for many years to come. And, I promise, that (almost) as soon as my plane touches back down onto home soil, I will get back to work making the content you have been getting used to and enjoying thus far.

My sincerest apologies for not being able to have that content for you in my absence. I thank you for your patronage and patience in my time away, and hope to see you very very soon in the middle of April.

The coming week's schedule will contain the last videos of each respective series before they are continued upon my return.

Once again thank you so much for watching and reading, and for your continued support and patience.



<3 Scary

Friday Night Magic - The Returned!

Hey everyone!

It's time for Friday Night Magic yet again. First of all I'd like to apologize for the delay in the video, and the delay in the news about the delay... Hah :)

I was called in to work earlier today as the video was rendering. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to finish rendering and start uploading as I had to leave the house earlier than expected. 

I thank you all for your patience as the video is uploading as I write this. I hope you enjoy it, it's going to be a doozie. 

This week's deck features creatures of black, red, and green colours. Mostly, they are creatures that do something when they enter the battlefield or attack. The idea is to use them often, and recur them back from the dead after they've been eliminated from the board. In doing so we apply a great deal of pressure, and mount an angry army of the undead that our opponents just can't keep up with. There's also some light removal in the deck, dealing with creatures by having our opponent sacrifice them, or just outright killing them. 

Please keep your eyes on the channel as this video should be up shortly. Thanks again for your patience, and make sure to subscribe if you haven't already to be alerted whenever a new video is uploaded :)

Best,

Scary

Rift Gameplay - Physician

Meeeeeeedic!!

Hey everyone, 

The first Dream Souls gameplay video is up and it features the Physician soul for the rogue. Please check it out and make sure to subscribe to the channel for much more awesome content to come your way soon. 

Enjoy!

Weekly Fix #4

Hey everyone, this is Scaryspikes welcoming you to your weekly fix for Monday, March 16, 2015. Just a quick announcement if you haven't heard already - I will be out of the country March 27-April 15 so there will be no blog activity during this time. However, I am working very hard to make sure there will be no interruption in scheduled videos on the channel for Wednesday and Friday.

I will do my best to get some Rift coverage out, but since that's still in the works I can't guarantee any Rift gameplays for when I am out of the country. Keep an eye out for at least a video or two before I leave, and obviously much more when I come back.

Get a deal! Get some cash! Buy shiny things!

Well I guess it's no surprise that GTA V is making another appearance this week. In today's news - get a massive discount on GTA V while still getting the pre-order bonus.

Until March 31, 2015, you can grab GTA V on Greenman Gaming's VIP page, located here. The game will cost you just under $50 which is a huge discount from other retailers offering it at a staggering $69.99. This is understandable, of course, as GTA V is a huge triple-a game that has seen unprecedented sales figures since its launch in October of 2014. With the new Heists mode and all the other DLC that has come out so far, I'd still call it a bargain. But hey, if you can pay less, why not?

In addition, if you manage to pre-order the game before the month of March is out, you'll also be given a stash of $1.5M to use in GTA V campaign and online modes.

If you haven't tried the new heists, mode, check out some of the earlier posts here, and then go buy the game already!

Making it right. Or, at least, starting to.

Valve software is quite possibly one of the largest PC based software distribution platforms for video games in the world. It's a company that's been around for a very long time, and has done many things right. Often, being at the forefront of new technologies and games.

As of recently however, Valve has come under fire for some of their customer service practices.

Now before anyone says anything, I can imagine how hard it has to be to deal with a large amount of complaints- because let's face facts. Complaints happen a lot, and some people do it just because. That's just the reality of it all, and unfortunately it's not always easy to address these kinds of concerns.

With all that said though, Valve was recently issued an F rank, the lowest possible grade attainable, by the Better Business Bureau. It became clear that customer service is something that Valve needs to work on, and it looks like some change might be on the horizon.

One of the new changes speculated to be implemented in the near future is a way to communicate with Valve about customer service issues such as refunds that is built directly into the client. This would make it much easier to get your concerns addressed, and by the right people.

I'm back, baby.

Mortal Kombat X. What else can I say other than wow. So far this game has been looking incredible. I am not a huge fan of fighting games at all, but I've been a huge fan of MK ever since the very first days I spent with it on my Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

And while we're thinking of all those characters we remember from the good ol' days of yesteryear, it's a good time to mention that some new screenshots have surfaced recently. These screenshots, one seen above, show and confirm that we will be seeing Mileena and Johny Cage in the upcoming MKX that's due to release later this year.

According to her description, Mileena was created by Shang Tsung as a replacement daughter and heir to Shao Kahn. Shao Kahn believed that his adopted daughter (Kitana) showed a wavering in her loyalty and believed she would not make a worthy heir.

Johny Cage has been around for a very long time. This time however, he will be playing the role of a father as he fights alongside his daughter, Cassie.

Very excited to play this game when it releases later this year. Considering that the controls probably won't be as intuitive on the PC, I am planning to pick it up for my PS4.



And that is going to do it for this week's fix! Make sure to come back next week (and all the days in between) for more gaming goodness! Thanks for reading.

Rift's Nightmare Tide - Dream Souls

Hey everyone,

If you haven't already, go get your FREE stuff for Rift!

As you know, souls are the essence of your custom class in Rift. Not long ago I got in touch with Trion Worlds, the folks behind Rift, to see if they could help me show off the latest souls from Nightmare Tide - the dream souls. 

What I didn't expect is for them to give me access to all the new souls, so that I could show you what they're all about. Big thank you to Trion Worlds for being awesome! These new souls really have a different approach to the usual MMO archetypes and how they perform their respective roles in the game. Read on, you may be surprised. 

The Dream Soul pack is available on the Rift store for 5,000 credits, or 4,500 if you're a patron. Once unlocked,you'll be able to enjoy all the new souls account-wide.

Keep in mind I will be going into more detail with each of these souls in future videos, so keep an eye out for that.

Liberator Guide

First off we have the Liberator. Not your average warrior. The Liberator has a plethora of earth based abilities, among others, that help to support his healer and group by providing AoE heals. This is a fantastic support role that will lessen the stress on your main healer, keeping your group topped up through light to moderate damage while adventuring in Telara. He's a flexible warrior who also has some decent healing when flying solo. 

Arbiter Guide

The Arbiter is a tanky mage soul that uses a variety of storm-based magic to help absorb, deflect, and otherwise mitigate incoming damages. Through the use of shields and other spells, you can easily distract another enemy while your main tank and DPS focus down a more dangerous threat. This is a very interesting build as it's something that most people would never think possible. I'm very much looking forward to giving this one a try!

Oracle Guide

The oracle is rumored to be from the future, escaping a shattered Telara to come warn the rest of us of the impending doom. She is a support soul, much like the bard. Her motifs and fanfares buff her allies, and debuff her enemies in an AoE fashion. It's important to note however, that the Oracle's buffs do not stack in effect with that of the Bard's. The Oracle fits a pivotal role in the support of a balanced group of adventurers.

Physician Guide

The physician, a rogue healing archetype, uses a variety of bow abilities including needle-tipped arrows to heal her allies. Your healing power comes from your own weapon DPS and attack power (similar to that of the Liberator) making you a versatile, flexible healer and damage dealer all in one. In my opinion, more of a support role but still just as important in maintaining a balanced and well formed group. 

I'm looking forward to checking out just how each of these souls play in relation to my expactations of what a class of that nature would typically do in a game like Rift. It's nice to see that things are getting mixed up and in my opinion, that keeps things interesting. 

It's obvious that rogues are still great at doing damage, and warriors are still (likely) the most capable meat shields. However, it's a great feeling knowing that if you're ever in the mood for something different, you're covered in Rift. 

Let me know what you think about the new souls, and if you haven't already, head over to the Rift store to pick up your own Dream Souls!

Keep reading and watching for more great content, including Rift, coming very soon!

Join Me in Rift! Get FREE Stuff!

Click here to get free stuff in Rift! Or see below for more details!

Adventure awaits! I've been playing Rift for a little while now and am having a lot of fun. There's lots of wonderful content planned for you on the channel; and with the help of Trion worlds, I am going to be bringing you that content in a guide-based gameplay series that will give you a balanced perspective on the very many things to do within the game.

But while all that is in the works, why don't you join me in Rift? If you don't already know, Rift is a MMORPG of massive proportions. It's completely free to play from start to finish (if you can ever find the finish ;)) Unlike several other F2P models out there, Rift's model is true to the name like nothing else. There are no surprises, no tricks, just fun and immersive gameplay that rewards you for playing how you like. There is a store where you can purchase convenience items for real money. However, this is not pay to win. The best items in the game still have to be earned in game. 

Some things that await you in Rift:

• Virtually limitless class customization - Build your own class with Rift's unique soul system, allowing you to mix and match abilities to suit your own unique playstyle. Want to heal as a rogue? You got it. Want to tank as a mage? No problem. Mind you, certain callings will still be better at their respective roles (such as a warrior tank) but anything is possible. 
• New soul packs for Storm Legion & Nightmare Tide
• Thousands of hours of gameplay throughout Rift's many zones. 
• A slew of warfronts to test your skills in PvP combat
• Thousands of quests, activities, and world events
• 17 dungeons (5 player), 4 chronicles (1-2 player raids), 4 slivers (10 player raids) 7 full size raids (20 player)
• Instant adventure (The best way to level, literally instantly start adventuring with other people of a similar level, endlessly)
• In depth trade skill system
• Patron & loyalty rewards
• And so much more

As a new recruit, you'll get some cool swag in addition to being able to play one of the best MMORG's out there for free:

• Teleport (to your recruiter)
• 25% Bonus Experience (near your recruiter)
• Free 16 slot bag
• Weapon rune
• Cloak
• Unique title

Click here to get started in the world of Rift. Be warned though, Rift was way ahead of its time when it was first released and still brings many innovations to the table today. You can definitely play this game on a casual basis- but you'll soon want to spend a little bit more time to get the most out of it. 

Some of my characters in the game include Arctusmaggus, Arcturous and Nineball. I play on the Deepwood server, so if you're ever online, make sure to say hello if you see me. :)

Enjoy this amazing game, and the content that's planned for the very near future. See you in Telara!

Friday Night Magic - Goblin Horde!

Goblins attack! Oh noes!

(UPDATE - 10:55PM EDT - Hi guys, problem with YouTube today. Video was scheduled for 6PM EDT, just got home to find the video has not finished processing. Video is being re-uploaded and hopefully will be up within the hour. Thanks for your patience.)

(UPDATE #2 - 12:46AM EDT - Well guys it looks like there is either an issue with YouTube or the video, as the second upload of the video has so far failed to properly process. I will keep close tabs on this and contact the appropriate people if this hasn't righted itself by the morning. My apologies.)

(UPDATE #3 - 2:37AM - It appears there are some major issues with YouTube, however the video is now 95% done. Sorry for the delay and stay tuned for the video!)

Hey everyone,

It's time for Friday Night Magic again - and this week's feature deck is full of tiny, angry goblins wanting to bash your face in.

The idea is to setup with cards like Quest for the Goblin Lord, Raid Bombardment or a few early goblins on the field. Pump ups such as our Goblin Bushwacker or reinforcements from cards like Krenko's Command and Goblin Rabblemaster keep those goblins coming. And with a moderate suite of burn spells we can keep our opponent's creatures at bay (or dead, which would be preferable) while we crush in for the win.

Make sure to subscribe to the channel so that you don't miss a thing! I hope you have as much fun with this deck as I did. If you have any ideas for future decks or how to improve this one, leave your thoughts in the comments below this post, or the video on the channel.

Thanks for reading & watching!

A Fresh Look

Hey everyone,

I've been hard at work modernizing the look of the blog and channel. Hopefully things look a little bit more professional now than they did before.

Please have a look at the channel as well, as there have been some major changes there too!

As always, do let me know what you think and if you have any ideas or suggestions, please do not hesitate to let me know.

There have been a lot of changes to the videos on YouTube as well, and you will see that reflected in the videos to come. The titles have been slightly altered to coincide with the more modern look of the blog and the channel and the intros have been reduced in length so that you can get into a video much faster.

In addition, I've chosen a few new design ideas to incorporate into new videos, which should be very easy to spot, so keep your eyes open for more content coming soon!

Thanks to everyone who contributed their ideas. As you can see, even though there has been a lot of change in a little time (which can be difficult on everyone) I believe that it is a culmination of the efforts of all the viewers, subscribers, and of course myself that led to this change in design.

If you haven't already, please follow the blog as well as subscribe on YouTube. Lots of great content is waiting for you and more is added every week.

See you on Friday night :)


Scary

Let's Play Heroes of the Storm: Jaina

Freeze!

Hey everyone,

It's Wednesday and you know what that means...

...More Heroes of the Storm!

This week I am playing Jaina Proudmore. A very capable (and beautiful) hero that harnesses the power of ice to subdue and finish her opponents.

Jaina has some very powerful abilities that, when used correctly, can output a serious amount of damage in a very short period of time. She's able to do all of this while also controlling her enemies' movement which can also aid the rest of her team.

She's also a versatile lane pusher, even though I personally don't believe that's what she was designed for. Her vast array of spells are able to pierce through waves upon waves of minions and gether XP very quickly for her team.

Jaina was a joy to play. If you have a request for a hero, let me know in the comments below, or in the comments under the video. If you haven't subscribed yet, what are you waiting for? Click here so you don't miss out on any of the action to come on the channel.

Enjoy!

Weekly Fix #3

Hey everyone,

Welcome to your weekly fix for Monday, March 9, 2015!

Announced at PAX East : The next adventure for Hearthstone!

Wow. Well, I guess we all saw this coming one way or another. Hearthstone is a very popular game and there is no denying that Blizzard is doing very well with it. From the legions of fans to the E-Sports events streamed to the world - Hearthstone is making it big. And, it's no surprise that we are about to see some more content coming very soon. Here's what to expect in Blackrock Mountain:

New Cards: Blackrock Mountain contains 5 wings populated by a slew of fiendishly clever bosses, each with their own hero power and unique new cards. When you defeat a boss for the first time, you will earn two copies of a brand-new card for your collection!

Class Challenges: On top of the regular bosses, Blackrock Mountain also includes nine all-new class challenges. Class challenges pit you against a specific boss using a custom, pre-set deck designed to test your skill with the class in question. Succeed, and two copies of a new class card are yours.

New Game Board: SO SHINY!

Dragons: As one would expect, Blackrock Mountain is home to a variety of dragons. Prepare to see a lot more of these scaly, fire-breathing, adventurer-crunching creatures as you brave the mountain!

Orcs, Dwarves, and Elementals, Oh My: Aside from dragons, there are plenty of other minions fighting on either side of the conflict: Dark Iron dwarves, fiery elementals, and the Blackrock orcs (who already had that name before it was cool).

Heroic Mode: If you like a challenge, you can try taking on the Heroic Mode version of any mission that you’ve cleared. This extra-difficult game mode is designed for players who don’t mind taking on ridiculously unfair and overpowered opponents. Bring your best deck and plenty of patience. You’ll need it!

The first wing released will be Blackrock Depths, with four more unannounced wings to be released thereafter.

To get ready for Blackrock Mountain, make sure to also play in ranked mode and reach a rank of at least 20 to secure your copy of the Raging Ragnaros cardback!

Coming Tomorrow!

Call in sick. Play hooky. Update that credit card on your PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live account, because it's time for GTA V Online Heists!!

It's the moment myself, as well as millions of other gamers have been waiting for since the launch of Grand Theft Auto V last October. The only thing more disappointing than not having the heists from day one as we were expecting was all the frustration caused by the rough launch of GTA V Online. Disconnects, terrible lag and many other issues plagues the online portion of the game throughout the first several weeks of launch. Thankfully Rockstar got on it relatively quickly and managed to solve the most important issues within a reasonable amount of time. 

Thankfully, they understand it takes time and polish to make a game good. And this is why the PC version, as well as the heists mode for online, has been pushed back as far as it has. They wanted to make sure the game was complete, and I'd rather wait for a finished product than a patch.

Here's some of what you can expect from heists:

• A string of exciting heists each with their own strategy, roles, and preparation missions totaling about 20 hours of additional play time.

• Follow the leader: Each heist will be led by a player who is expected to cough up all the start-up costs of the heist. In addition, that player needs to be at least level 12 and own a high end apartment with a planning board to coordinate the heist. Leader gets the largest of the crew cuts, and decides how much each other crew member gets. 

• Role Play: Each player will have a specific role to play in the heist. Either to do something on their own, or form a smaller team with another player within the crew to accomplish a necessary part of the heist. Communication will be paramount, so make sure to have a headset!

• Bonus Gear: You need the right gear for the job. Heists will open up a new slew of custom vehicles and weapons as well as outfits and other tools of the trade that you will need to be successful. 

• Bonus Cash: There will be several challenges that will net you a big cash bonus if you can complete them. Including finishing a heist for the first time, completing all heists in order, doing all heists with the same group of people, and finally a huge $10,000,000 prize for doing all of the above. 

I personally cannot wait to dip my feet in the water again, hit the ground running and doing some heists when they launch tomorrow. It's been rumored that heists have already been unlocked for some players, although that has not yet been confirmed. 

What is for sure is that the heists are not like anything else you've experienced in GTA V to date. So this should be a new, fun, exciting and rewarding experience - one that I am very much looking forward to trying. 

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain may see release this year.

According to a video with Italian subtitles which features Hideo Kojima, the man behind the Metal Gear Solid franchise, the game may be coming out this year. 

A user on a GeoGaf ran into a video online that featured an interview with Kojima, who was supposedly talking about the Phantom Pain, including details such as the release date. The video seems to be floating around the interwebs and is leading people to believe that we may see the release of the game later this year. Although the subtitles were in Italian, it was apparent that the release of the game will take place on September 1, 2015.

This is neither confirmed nor denied at this point. However, one thing that we can be clear about is that the game will not only be making an appearance on PC, but also on last generation (Xbox 360 & PS3) as well as next generation (PS4 and Xbox One) consoles. 

If you want to get a taste of what's to come, you can always check out the game's prologue which has already been released. But to be honest, it's about 15 minutes of gameplay for about $30, which is totally not worth it. 

Still, if you're a fan of the series, you can either fork up the cash, trade in some games, or just watch some YouTube videos for free, to get your fix until later this year. 

Thanks so much for reading and make sure to come back next Monday (and of course, throughout the week) to get your fix!

Bad Apple, Part 2

Hey everyone,

Not long ago I had a bit of a problem with Hearthstone on my iPad. Well, after some time waiting and trying to email Apple, I finally got a response. 

Before telling me it was my fault, the rep told me that I should expect a full refund on my purchase price in 7-10 days. But before he got to the refund part, he made sure to tell me that I should make sure to have settings in place to prevent accidental purchases and also to be aware of a message that comes up during purchases that verifies that I actually want to buy that particular item. 

He went on to say that I had purchased the wrong pack, and this is why there was a discrepancy in the price. I think not good sir. I sent these two screenshots to him to prove him wrong, and ask him to forward it to the right people in the company so that gamers on Apple products don't get ripped off playing Hearthstone. 

Here's what it looks like on PC:

Notice that we have Goblins VS Gnomes selected and a quantity of 40 packs. The price is clearly $49.99.

Now we move to the iPad. Still Goblins VS Gnomes. Still 40 packs. Now, $8 more expensive. 

Is it true? Are Apple users forced to pay a premium just because it's "Apple"? Absolutely. Now don't get me wrong. I am happy to have been issued a refund. But first of all, I will believe it when I see it in my bank account; and secondly, it is not untrue to say that Apple is simply overpriced. It has been considered premium for too long and now that's even starting to be apparent in their apps. 

This needs to change. I don't think Apple makes bad products or apps. Sure, there have been design and marketing choices that didn't exactly agree with me. But if they simply stop trying to milk people for all of their money, Apple would probably turn into a pretty damn good company. 

There is a reason Android has (roughly) 82% market share. There's a few things I find annoying about it as well, but nothing is perfect. Android however is more open, accessible, non-proprietary, and grows with the trends of the world's technology market. How long did we have to wait to get a display of 5" or more on an iPhone? Android had been doing it for several generations of smartphones longer - and that's just one example. 

But hey, I'm not here to debate which is better. Just to educate you, so that you can make a more informed choice. 

Hope this helps! Thanks for reading :)

Rift Nightmare Tide & Friday Night Magic - Boros Bros

Check out the Flash Fix - Content Update video here!!

Hey everyone,

Back by popular demand - more Rift coverage!

Thanks to all of you who have expressed interest in seeing more Rift content on the channel. It's definitely been some of the more popular content on my channel, and I want to let you know it will definitely be making a comeback. I'm working hard to gather as much information as possible before starting to make more videos in the Let's Play series (due out sometime next week) so that I can make the best videos possible. I'm currently chatting with Trion Worlds to see if we can work together to bring you as much Rift content as possible.

As you may or may not be aware, Rift's second expansion, Nightmare Tide (released in Fall of 2014) is in full swing and I hope to be bringing you as much content as possible as there are a lot of new changes.

If there's something you'd particularly like to see, please leave a comment in the channel's discussion area or under this post, and I'll do my best to make it happen.

If you haven't yet seen the trailer for Nightmare Tide, check it out below :) Head over here to create your account and start playing; and head here to check out more Rift Let's Play videos!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday Night Magic is back!

This week's feature is an aggressive Boros deck (red and white cards) with some early creatures, a little bit of pump up, and some removal to keep the beats coming.

This week's video will be live on the channel and on the Friday Night Magic playlist @6pm EST Friday March 6.

If you haven't already, make sure to subscribe so you don't miss any of the new and exciting content that's yet to come.

If you have any ideas for future Friday Night Magic episodes, please leave your thoughts in the comments below this or any other Magic related post. As much as I try to get back to everyone who comments, I may not be able to respond to each comment. Rest assured however, I read every single comment and take your suggestions into consideration.

Thanks so much for reading & watching!


Scaryspikes

Bad Apple

Apple's been bad. And I've had enough.

Sound familiar? Read on.

So I've been playing some  Hearthstone lately. I haven't played for a while, but I thought it may be a good idea to start playing and checking out the new Goblins VS Gnomes cards, as well as get back in touch with some old Hearthstone friends. I was relaxing in bed one evening with my iPad and playing a few games. After some time, I decided to get some packs. After all, it's been quite a while since I got any packs in Hearthstone, and even then that was all before the new expansion came out. Cool, let's buy some packs.

I remember very well what the price of 40 packs were about 6 months ago, roughly the last time I played Hearthstone. But, knowing that the new free expansion came out, I was expecting somewhat of a hike. That was my first mistake, to make an assumption. Nevertheless, I continued into the store on my iPad to check the prices for the packs. I was astonished that the price had gone up a total of $7.99 for 40 packs!

I was really surprised. I mean, I did expect the price to go up a little bit, but nowhere near $7.99! This really made me angry; but I really enjoy playing Hearthstone and felt like 40 packs were still a better value than buying 10 or 15 and then deciding I needed more. So I went ahead and purchased the 40 packs.

Not long after that, I checked my statement from my financial institution. It turns out I was charged not $7.99 but $15.31 more than the price I remember paying when I bought the same amount of cards last. Now I was really angry - so I decided to speak to Blizzard.

A Blizzard game master told me "We charge a set amount of our packs, but we are not responsible for fees imposed by iTunes on top of what we charge. You'll have to speak with them."

I proceeded to look on my PC client and the packs are exactly the same price I payed 6 months ago! It was a difference of $15.31 between what I payed on my iPad client than what I paid on my PC client. At this point I was outraged. The fees were never explained to me, there was nothing there - the price was written not on the iTunes store but in the game!

So I contacted iTunes 4 days ago and have yet to hear from them. Trust me, I'll be updating you here on what happens. Suffice it to say this is the last time Apple has overcharged me and tried getting away with it. I used to use Apple products regularly in the past, and to some degree the company has built a little bit of loyalty with me. This is why I gave them the benefit of the doubt the first time. But this is clearly unacceptable. To charge $15.31 on top of what I should be paying, without so much as an explanation of the fees.

I'll keep you guys posted as to what happens next. In the meantime I am cutting my ties with Apple. I hate to say it, but ever since Steve Jobs passed away it has not been the same company. You might call me an Android fanboy, and you know what, you wouldn't be far off. Don't get me wrong, I hate Google+ and a few other things about Google. But overall, I feel I am being charged a reasonable price for my hardware and software and what I have meets my needs. I like it because it's simple and it works, and if that makes me a fanboy, then so be it.

Thanks for reading!

Let's Play Heroes of the Storm - Featuring Zagara

Hey everyone,

A new episode of Let's Play Heroes of the Storm is up! In this let's play I play Zagara, one of my most favorite heroes thus far. She's a very flexible mid range specialist who has some really cool abilities and ...a really big ass. Zagara is great at pushing lanes and keeping other heroes in check. She has some really cool utility abilities, as well as some traits and talents which let her move faster and live longer. I really liked her in Starcraft II, and very happy to be seeing her in Heroes of the Storm.

Check out the video below, or head to the channel for the best quality and discussion with other fans of the game. Thanks very much for reading/watching and if you haven't already make sure to subscribe for all the latest!

Keep your eyes peeled on the channel for more videos coming this week, including Friday Night Magic!

Weekly Fix #2

Hey everyone,

Welcome to your weekly fix for Monday, March 2, 2015.

GTAV PC Push Back, Heists, and $1.5M Pre-Order Bonus

According to Rockstar Games, developer of the famed Grand Theft Auto games, the release for GTAV PC has been pushed back yet again. It was supposed to release on PC in late 2014, which didn't happen. Then it was supposed to be late January, 2015. Slated for release on March 24, it got pushed back another time now to April 14. As unfortunate as this is, I'm totally with Rockstar about their decision to buy time and release when it's best for the game. Rockstar has always made fantastic games with incredible levels of detail and polish. Learning from their past, they know the effect on the community can be profound if a product which is not ready is released (GTA Online ring any bells here?) It looks like they've taken this one by the horns and are sticking to their guns on ensuring the game will live up to the expectations of millions of fans worldwide.

As an additional incentive and act of goodwill, the pre-order bonus was amped up to include another $200,000 usable in GTA Online when the game launches. That brings the current pre-order bonus to $1.5M.

Additionally, we are finally going to be seeing heists in GTA Online. For owners of current and next generation copies of GTA V, heists can be expected to hit on March 10, 2015. They will fundamentally be very similar to those int he single player game. You will need to prepare for the heist over the course of several missions with your friends, and only then will you be able to do the big job. This is a 4 player cooperative game mode that I personally cannot wait to play.

Multiple GPU's? Yes please!

According to speculation and rumors originating on Tom's Hardware (and for now they will remain speculation and rumors) apparently there is a PC video card breakthrough coming from Microsoft to be revealed mid March at GDC.

DirectX has been at the forefront of PC gaming for many many years. It has been evolving as have the graphics cards to provide us gamers with more immersive and realistic gaming experiences. Now, DirectX 12 looks like it's going to take PC gaming to a whole new level.

According to some of these rumors, a source who wished to remain anonymous revealed that DirectX 12 will make it possible for PC gamers to mix and match graphics cards in multi-GPU arrangements without the restriction of multi-gpu technology or manufacturer.

For instance, if you own a PC and want to increase the graphical processing power of your system, you might want to install 2-4 nVidia SLI enabled video cards. Or, you might want to do the same with AMD CrossFire. What (apparently) DirectX 12 will make possible is that not only would you be able to use AMD and nVidia cards interchangeably with one another, having multiple types installed in your system, but that they would be collaboratively considered as a single graphics card.

On top of this, memory pooling would allow you to maximize the amount of VRAM you had available to the total amount of RAM among video cards installed in your system.

I'm not sure what to expect here, but if this is true, it could really send a shockwave through the market, change the way AMD and nVidia compete against one another, and possibly change the way we game forever.

HTC & Valve to enter VR market

In a world of ever advancing technologies, it's a no brainer that more and more companies want to get involved in the next generation of tech.

Recently, VALVE (The company behind Steam, as well as some of my favorite PC games) revealed alongside Taiwanese phone giant HTC that they will be entering the VR market later this year with the release of their VR headset named Vive.

The Vive is said to have a resolution of 1200 by 1800 per eye and run at approximately 90FPS. This, says the developer, will remove the jitter that is prevalent in many other devices already on the market.

In addition, with several base stations (I assume that will have to be purchased separately) your body can be tracked as well as your head in a room the size of about 15 by 15 feet. This would add a new dimension in the feeling of immersion, and would make for some interesting experiences.

HTC was initially very skeptical as to the way the system would work until they saw Valve's demo. They jumped on board shortly thereafter and there are now several other companies signing up to produce content for the Vive. Companies like Dovertail Games, Fireproof Games, and Cloudhead Games. With others like HBO interested as well, I am curious to see which way this technology will go.

Surely the focus is gaming, but it might be possible to apply this technology to other faucets of entertainment as well. Only time will tell.

It was also rumored that a handful of Valve games will support this new VR headset, and in doing so will help to further immerse gamers into the awesome experiences they already enjoy today.