Remedy my Silence

I've been neglecting my paid EVE online account to play LOTRO on the open beta.

I currently have a level 13 human woman burglar (Rosencrantz) and a level 7 elf hunter (Fandoreth).
In the game, actual LOTR-style names are recommended. However, everyone playing the open beta at Savage Geckos has a Shakespearian name, hence Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Rosaline, Feste, Benardo, etc.

The reason LOTRO is really fun to play is the ability to form a fellowship with anyone on the current server. The game is very similar to Warcraft, but people have been saying it's even better. I can't stress enough how cool this game is. I encourage everyone to come out to Savage Geckos and play with us. (So you don't have to download the 3,000 MB client.)

I did find out that the client is only for the beta. You have to purchase the actual game at ($50) and pay the monthly membership on top of that at $9.95/month for pre-order customers and $14.95/month once the beta is over. Yikes! It's steep, but I'm definitely buying it if it's still awesome at level 15.

Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) is one of the newest Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) to hit the market with a beautiful bang. The open beta opened on Friday, and almost anyone with a turbine.com account can participate. The client is available for download here, but It's a fairly large file.

I started playing Friday afternoon and in the first instance there was a considerable amount of lag until I advanced past the novice area. The sheer number of people on these servers is mindboggling. But this lag can probably be attributed to people setting their graphics too high. (Go into the options menu and click the "Optimize" button.) I was also using a computer with a bad connection. Besides, it was nowhere near the lag that users first experienced when Warcraft launched. As I recall, a character could jump off a cliff (lethal), repeat x times, and die 45 minutes later from the initial jump.

The open beta lasts until April 24th and a level 15 cap has been placed on all characters. Once the actual launch day comes around, the open beta characters will not be available unless you pre-order for $9.95, or buy a lifetime membership for $199. I'm beginning to consider these options, because this game is spectacular! It's a LOT like Warcraft, but there seems to be a temporary lack of little children populating the servers, and it's well... LORD OF THE RINGS! Meh.

Maintaining a store by your lonesome is tough work, let me tell you.
My boss wasn't lying when he said this would be a crash-course in entrepreneurship and business management. Needless to say, I think I've learned more in the past few months than any course in business could ever teach me.

But enough of that.

The DDR Supernova at Savage Geckos has decided to quit reading the input arrows properly.
This has caused me significant discomfort because it makes it almost impossible to play double on heavy mode.
Double on DDR means that one person dances on both pads at once. It is almost a completely different form of gameplay. In fact, it's more like dancing than single mode.
Heavy mode is well, heavy.

Last night I had to play on single mode to get my fix, and it was not nearly as enjoyable as doubles! Frustrating! Bah!

Sgt. Slaughter, over and out.

After getting off work today, I sat down and played Unreal Tournament 2004 with six other people. Two days ago, these people had no idea what the game even was, and now they are members of the well-oiled machine that is our assault team. Take that, you stinkin' bots!

This is my game! Huzzah!

So it's been a month since I last posted. It seems that class requirements can't even defeat my blogging habits.
Oh, and I just got this awesome Glassjaw cd. Superb. (Tip Your Bartender.)

So as for video games, there's some events going on at Savage Geckos this week. Friday night we're having an All-Night LAN Party from 11 pm to 6 am in the morning. $25 bucks, pizza included. For those of you who don't know what a LAN party is, a LAN is a Local Area Network meaning that you play games over the network with other people in the room. It adds a completely different form of excitement than playing online or single player. For example, Unreal Tournament 2004 is played frequently at Savage Geckos. Many different forms of deathmatch allow for the ultimate massacre experience! You can play on teams or verse the computer. Our current favorite game type is assault, where teams take turns attacking and defending whilst completing objectives. This type of gameplay allows for large amounts of tactical shouting across the room to let teammates know of their enemies location, which makes LAN parties fantastic mutual gaming environments.

Spaces limited!

On Sunday, there's another DDR Tournament with a $10 entry for Standard and Heavy mode players. Be there!

Okay, I have an addiction.

It all started when I was just casually browsing the games on the pcs at Savage Geckos. I was a little tired with Warhammer 40K: Dark Crusade, and was like, hey... what's in the MMORPG section? (A MMORPG is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game.) So I browse through the list, pondering if I should be proud or ashamed if I haven't played World of Warcraft yet. I come across this game called EVE Online. Interesting. I go to their site, grab the 14-day free trial, and boot up the server. From that point on, it started something fierce.

The entire premise of the game is such that you fly around in your own personal spaceship to space stations, through solar systems and stargates. This game is beautiful (It won the best graphics award from MMORPG.com and countless others.) When you're warping through space the surrounding environment, distant stars, and assorted nebulae are a fantastic sight.

But enough about the pretty things.
This game is based on economy. You buy and sell items that you collect from destroying space pirates or mining. You use this money to buy bigger at better spaceships. There's also a huge number of quests to accomplish, and once you have a decent amount of money, you can join or start your own corporation. Corporations have access to many assets in the game, and it's necessary to be a part of one if you want a LOT of money. Which is nice. But yeah, I've already logged 16 hours + in this game as of two days ago. I've got a coworker I'm collaborating with, and a few regulars of Savage Geckos are going to help us start a corporation.

It may sound dry, but get through the very long (but fun) tutorial, and you should be fine. I never thought I'd actually buy a subscription to any MMORPG, but this one is going to get all of my money.

OhYeahAndALotOfPeopleWhoHavePlayedThisGameThinkIt'sBetterThanWorldOfWarcraft! What? Did I just say that?

I came across this link after reading my daily news source, boingboing.net. It's various renditions of Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers Theme played by different and crazy instruments. My personal favorites are the "Beatbox Flute," "A Capella," and "Blindfolded Piano." This is an off-site collection of videos from YouTube.

Super Mario Brothers is a theme known throughout the world and represents unity and friendship between cultures.

Wonderful news! My PEGN 210 (Lifetime Wellness and Fitness) professor let me know that Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) is a legitimate workout to earn exercise credit for the class. See, due to my place of employment, I get free arcade DDR anytime I want, creating a free and convenient way to work out!

For those of you who don't know, DDR is a fantabulous game from Konami. You move your feet to corresponding arrows on the dance screen. It's very popular, and there's a tournament at Savage Geckos on February 11th if you think you're good enough.

Hi there, I'm Sarah. I'm a currently a biochemistry major at Eastern.

Feel free to check out the audio links in the sidebar, they're quick and fantastic reviews of really cool bands that most people (who have a decent sense of music) would enjoy.

I am currently the general manager of Savage Geckos - EMU. Come visit me and play some brutally awesome games! Not that I care or anything, but there's going to be a Halo 2 Tournament on February 8th or 11th.

My first little content tidbit:

Viva Pinata Review
It's like if Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon, and Katamari Damacy had a baby. It's really marketed towards children, but there are some subtle adult themes. Basically, the premise of the game is to create a virtual garden ecosystem. Along the way, pinatas will visit the garden and decide whether or not they will want to live there based on certain conditions. It's addictive! I'm putting Final Fantasy XII off because of it!