Yet Another Worst Level

SWAT 3. Great Game. AI was cool. Realism was amazing. Most levels were ones that made you think.

Then there were the sewers.

One level some criminals took over a section of the LA sewers. You have to arrest them. Oh, and there may be a couple of innocent workers. And by the way, the sewers are a three floor maze. Oh, almost forgot, they have planted bombs the size of transistor radios. There are seven of them. And they go off in 30 minutes. And no, you don't get a map you can use in mission. Did I mention the posion gas that, when standing in, you can't fire your gun or use flashbangs since they set off the gas and you die? Good luck!

Hard Mode is Here!

Guild Wars has introduced Hard Mode. There's just way too much information for me to post it all in such a short amount of time, so I'll just copy/paste from their site. See below.

Hard Mode
Hard mode has been introduced for the Prophecies, Factions, and Nightfall campaigns. Players who have completed a campaign can now try playing it again in Hard mode for the ultimate challenge. By playing the game in Hard mode, players can find new treasures and earn new titles and rewards.

Now that players can choose their difficulty level, we've adjusted monster AI in Normal mode to present a more moderate challenge. The most advanced and difficult monster behaviors are now reserved for Hard mode. (Note: Certain elite missions may be extremely difficult to complete in Hard mode. We will examine these missions and make any necessary changes at a later date.)

Changes to Normal Mode

The following monster AI modifications have been made to Normal mode only. Monsters in Hard mode continue to use the most challenging AI available.

• Monsters in Normal mode now respond more slowly to AoE damage.
• Monsters in Normal mode are now less likely to kite for long periods of time.
• Melee monsters in Normal mode will once again focus all of their attacks on a single target.

Accessing Hard Mode

• To gain access to a campaign's Hard mode, you must win the final mission for that campaign in Normal mode.
• Once you win a campaign with any character on your account, every level 20 character on that same account will have access to Hard mode for that campaign.
• All Hard mode content is intended for level 20 characters. All monsters are at least level 20, and all henchmen who are below level 20 are automatically promoted to level 20 when taken into Hard mode.

Hard Mode Loot

• The average number of uncommon and rare items has been increased in Hard mode.
• While in Hard mode, the number of gemstones that players receive from chests after defeating each region of the Domain of Anguish has been doubled.
• Elite and non-elite Skill Tomes have been introduced into the game. You can acquire these new items by defeating creatures while in Hard mode.
  • There is a non-elite Skill Tome that corresponds with each of the ten professions. You may use a Skill Tome to learn any non-elite skill associated with that Tome's correlated profession if that skill is unlocked on your account. Non-elite Skill Tomes may be obtained from any normal creature in Hard mode.
  • There is an Elite Skill Tome that corresponds with each of the ten professions. You may use a Skill Tome to learn any elite skill associated with that Tome's correlated profession if that skill is unlocked on your account. Elite Skill Tomes may be obtained from any boss creature in Hard mode.

Hard Mode Rewards

• Players will receive the following gold, experience, and skill point rewards while in Hard mode:
  • Prophecies Mission Completion: 500 gold + 2,000 xp + 1 skill point.
  • Prophecies Bonus Completion: 500 gold + 2,000 xp + 1 skill point.
  • Factions and Nightfall Master’s Reward: 500 gold + 3,000 xp + 1 skill point.
  • Factions and Nightfall Expert’s Reward: 300 gold + 2,000 xp + 1 skill point.
  • Factions and Nightfall Standard Reward: 200 gold + 1,000 xp + 1 skill point.

Hard Mode Titles

Vanquisher Title

• A new Vanquisher title track has been added for Tyria, Cantha, and Elona. These titles will keep track of which explorable areas have been vanquished in a given campaign's Hard mode.
• A new Legendary Vanquisher title track has been added. This title keeps track of the number of campaigns a player has successfully vanquished.
• Once an explorable area has been vanquished in Hard mode, players will receive gold equal to three times the number of creatures defeated, and experience equal to five times the number of creatures defeated.
• Some explorable areas have regions that are blocked off to players until the associated mission has been completed. It is recommended that players complete the mission before trying to vanquish the explorable area of the same name.
• In Hard Mode, if all party members of a group are dead and at 60% Death Penalty, they will be returned to the outpost instead of being resurrected.

Guardian Title

• A Guardian title track has been added for Tyria, Cantha, and Elona. These titles are the Hard mode version of the existing mission completion titles.
• A Legendary Guardian title track has been added. This title keeps track of how many Protector and Guardian titles a player has accumulated throughout Tyria, Cantha, and Elona.

Lockpicks

• Your characters can now acquire lockpicks. These new, special items can be found in Hard mode and may also be purchased from any merchant (with the exception of those found in Pre-Searing Ascalon).
  • The chance to retain a lockpick upon opening a chest is determined by the following formula: (Character level / 2) + (3 * Treasure Hunter ranks) + (2 * Lucky ranks) (%).
  • In Normal mode, chests have built-in bonuses that make them easier to open than chests in Hard mode.
• Lockpicks may be used to open any locked chest in Normal mode, but they are a requirement for opening any chests in Hard mode.

Mission Adjustments

The mission completion times for the purposes of Standard, Expert's, and Master's rewards have been increased in the following Hard mode missions:

Grand Court of Sebelkeh

• Hard Mode Master's Reward: completed in under 12 minutes.
• Hard Mode Expert's Reward: completed in 12-16 minutes.
• Hard Mode Standard Reward: completed in over 16 minutes.

Ruins of Morah

• Hard Mode Master's Reward: completed in under 10 minutes.
• Hard Mode Expert's Reward: completed in 10-14 minutes.
• Hard Mode Standard Reward: completed in over 14 minutes.

Vizunah Square

• Hard Mode Master's Reward: completed in under 35 minutes.
• Hard Mode Expert's Reward: completed in 35-40 minutes.
• Hard Mode Standard Reward: completed in over 40 minutes.

Nahpui Quarter

• Hard Mode Master's Reward: completed in under 40 minutes.
• Hard Mode Expert's Reward: completed in 40-45 minutes.
• Hard Mode Standard Reward: completed in over 45 minutes.

Tahnnakai Temple

• Hard Mode Master's Reward: completed in under 30 minutes.
• Hard Mode Expert's Reward: completed in 30-35 minutes.
• Hard Mode Standard Reward: completed in over 35 minutes.

Sunjiang District

• Hard Mode Master's Reward: completed in under 25 minutes.
• Hard Mode Expert's Reward: completed in 25-30 minutes.
• Hard Mode Standard Reward: completed in over 30 minutes.

Raisu Palace

• Hard Mode Master's Reward: completed in under 26 minutes.
• Hard Mode Expert's Reward: completed in 26-28 minutes.
• Hard Mode Standard Reward: completed in over 28 minutes.

Imperial Sanctum

• Hard Mode Master's Reward: completed in under 3 minutes.
• Hard Mode Expert's Reward: completed in 3-6 minutes.
• Hard Mode Standard Reward: completed in over 6 minutes.

Alternate Elite Mission Access

• Bosses in Hard mode now drop Underworld and Fissure of Woe Passage Scrolls. These scrolls allow a party to enter these realms even if their territory does not have the favor of the gods.
• The Kurzick Bureaucrat [Faction Rewards] in House zu Heltzer now offers Passage Scrolls into Urgoz's Warren. Players may exchange 1,000 Kurzick faction to obtain one of these scrolls, which will transport one person to the outpost.
• The Luxon Scavenger [Faction Rewards] in Cavalon now offers Passage Scrolls into the Deep. Players may exchange 1,000 Luxon faction to obtain one of these scrolls, which will transport one person to the outpost.

Existing Title Changes

• The Skill Hunter title track has been divided into individual title tracks for each campaign.
• You can now obtain the title Legendary Skill Hunter. This title track can be earned by gaining the Skill Hunter title across all campaigns.
• You can now obtain the title Legendary Cartographer. This title can be earned by full exploring all of Tyria, Cantha, and Elona.
• The final rank of the Sunspear title track now requires 50,000 Sunspear promotion points.

Realm of Torment Rebalancing

• Decreased the number of Torment Demons that cluster together in the Domain of Secrets, the Domain of Pain, Nightfallen Jahai, and the Depths of Madness.
• Decreased the overall number of enemy groups in the Domain of Secrets, the Domain of Pain, Nightfallen Jahai, and the Depths of Madness.
• Adjusted the enemy patrol routes in the Domain of Secrets, the Domain of Pain, Nightfallen Jahai, and the Depths of Madness.
• Adjusted the size and makeup of the Torment groups in the Domain of Fear.
• Adjusted the monster spawns in the Depths of Madness. The changes include (but are not limited to) the movement of patrols, the size and makeup of groups, and the location of boss encounters.

Audio Updates

• Combat sounds have been improved.

UI Updates

• Added a Rename button to the Manage Templates panel so that players can rename their saved skills and equipment templates.
• Added a Template Code panel to simplify template sharing. This panel can be accessed by clicking the disc-shaped icon in the Skills and Attributes panel.

Miscellaneous

• The price of keys that previously cost 1,500 gold have been reduced to 1,250 gold.
• The first-person camera has been adjusted to allow players to more easily play in first-person mode. Scrolling with the mouse wheel still allows you to leave first-person mode, however, you must now scroll a little more than before.
• Loot now scales according to party size.
• Repeated map entry no longer reduces loot.
• Made preparations for the Double Sunspear Points and Double Lightbringer Points weekend event.
• Removed the Wintersday 2006 Championship Trophy.
• Added the Celestial Tournament 2007 Championship Trophy.
• The Xunlai Tournament House NPC has returned to the Great Temple of Balthazar, Lion’s Arch, Kaineng Center, and Kamadan to reward players with their Celestial Tournament prizes.

Bug fixes

• Fixed a bug that made it possible for Heroes on a flag to be pulled too far from their ordered positions.
• Fixed a bug that could cause a Hero to stop responding when players set their skill priorities.
• Improved target locking for pets.
• Fixed a bug that prevented various team and boss auras from displaying properly.
• Fixed a bug that caused Kournan peasants to appear as if they were glowing.

Galactic Civilizations II and What's Important in Video Games

Some companies just don't get it. Some of the big players just keep taking the same idea and putting new graphics and effects on them. We keep seeing the same games coming out of companies like EA. Other companies just get it. They realise gameplay is the key. The perfect example is Stardock, esspecially in Galactic Civilizations II.

First, I will say, they have used a pretty old concept: Civ. However, they put it in a creative enviornment (Space). The key to the entire game is the gameplay. Every improvement they make is centered around that. It has good graphics, none that will blow you away and sometimes there are tiny visual glitches, but they work. The music sets the mood but is nothing to write home about. But gameplay, that is top notch. They are currently working on their fifth patch (six if you count the expansion pack but that you had to buy) and each improved them game. They didn't just fix the game, they improved it. New options were added, setting tweaked etc. The amazing thing is how they did it; they asked (dun dun dun) gamers what they wanted to see added. Go figure, a gaming company asking its clients what THEY want. How common and low, I know.

Let me also say that Galactic Civilizations II is a great game to give a whirl. The AI plays a fun game that you can both work with and against (again, Stardock looks to players with the highest scores and asks them for strategy to make the AI better). The trade system is great, as everything has value to the computer. You must design your ships and the ship builder alone is a sort of game in itself. There are plenty of technologies to research and improvements to build. Further, they had no problem trying to put humor in the game with funny descriptions and strange events. If you ever had fun playing a game from the Civ series, you will love Galactic Civilizations II (and I highly recommend the expansion pack for some natural improvements that fight right in).

Guild Wars Hard Mode

I mentioned Hard Mode in a previous post, and I have done some digging about the subject. The most information in one place happens to be at GuildWiki. Check it out for yourself.

The basic overview of hard mode as we know it (there is no official word yet), is that each mission in the post-searing world can be played again on a harder difficulty. Monsters will be more difficult. Remember when you had to run from a bunch of monsters at the end of the Great Northern Wall mission? They were all about level 8. If you go back now, you can defeat them rather easily. Now imagine doing that mission again, and instead of a ton of level 8 Charr running after you, it is now a ton of level 24 Charr.

Apparently there will be new items that drop only in hard mode as well. This includes a new item called the lock pick, which reportedly can open any chest in the game.

There are a few titles that can only be gained by playing hard mode, including the new Guardian and Vanquisher titles. Also the max title for Sunspear and Lightbringer can finally be achieved.

For those of us still working on Normal Mode, some of the more difficult bosses and monsters will be toned down when Hard Mode is released.

There is no specified release for hard mode yet, though the updates later today lead me to believe that it will be soon. It has been stated that Hard Mode will be implemented as a game update, not as an expansion.

Major Guild Wars Updates

First, users now have an extra 20 slots in their storage account for every campaign that they own. Instead of 20 slots (which is what we had initially), players can have up to 80. Those of us with only the Prophecies campaign now have 40.

Second, a couple missions have been updated. Most specifically, the Divinity Coast mission, which involved finding the Chosen villagers, has been made a bit easier. "When approached, the chosen villagers will now appear on the player's Party bar." Also updated are D'Alessio Seaboard and Gyala Hatchery.

Third, Augury Rock is now a mission after you complete the three required missions before it. Apparently this is in preparation of the new Hard Mode Guild Wars has been planning. The first I heard of hard mode it was through one of those titles. Apparently they will be releasing it soon. I'll search for more information later.

Other stuff

• A new cool thing is that you can now command pets to attack, guard, and heel. Also, Hero and Henchman AI has improved.
• There is a new Automated Tournament system and preparation for the open beta test has begun.
• Lots of new changes to the UI. Check out the webpage itself for more information.
• Lots of skill changes.

See the official website and GuildWiki for more information.

Kingdom Hearts III

More PS3 goodness! Kingdom Hearst: Final Mix 2 was released in Japan for the PS2 about a week ago. This game is basically a remake of Kingdom Hearts 2 with new features, extra bosses, and most importantly a new secret trailer at the end. Check out this link at YouTube for that trailer. It is pretty cool looking (and that's on the PS2, imagine the PS3).

The reason I still say I like the Playstation 3 better than the Wii and the Xbox 360 is the games. PS3 didn't have a good line up of release games, but they've got the best games coming up. Just to name a few...

• Kingdom Hearts III
• Grand Theft Auto IV (see below post)
  
• Final Fantasy XIII (some of this is actual gameplay)
• Final Fantasy Versus XIII (trailer)
  
• Metal Gear Solid IV (TGS trailer, original trailer)
  

Also looking forward to Assassin's Creed, which comes out for both PS3 and XBox 360. See trailer and demo. Note: The demo is for the XBox 360.

One final note, my favorite part of the Wii (the Virtual Console) has just released another great game for the Nintendo 64. Star Fox 64!

GTA IV Trailer

I wasn't all that interested in picking up a new GTA game because I've outgrown/overplayed them, if you know what I mean. The new GTA is coming out for PS3, so I won't be able to get it anyway, but I do like to admire the way it looks. It looks sweet. See for yourself.

GTA IV Trailer