Cornerscout's Blog - Apr to Jun 12 (21 followers)

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I'd like to preface this by saying: I am in no means a professional and I am basically winging it when it comes to reviewing this game. On a scale of 1-10, measuring both my experience in RTS games and skill, I'd say I'm a 2. That being said, I can still write better reviews than IGN. HA! However, if you'd like to bribe me to change information or my opinions on the game, I won't turn it down.

I'll go ahead and start this review with a TL;DR (Too long; didn't read) summary for the lazy ones among us:
THIS GAME IS AWESOME. If you like RTS, Warhammer, or achievements, this game is all three combined. Go buy it, you fool!

I've always had a thing for RTS games. I remember playing Starcraft and Warcraft 3 so much on my old computer, and I still have the Battle Chests with strategy guides for both games. Ah, the good days. Despite my "experience", I am nowhere near skilled at these games. I could probably recite quotes from The Art of War by Sun Tzu, and yet my strategy consists of:
1. Start amassing an army. Fortify the base with as much as possible and recruit as many fighters as I can possibly hold.
2. Repeat this step while enemies kill each other, defending against anything they throw at me.
3. Release the flood gates! Highlight every single character I own and grossly outnumber the enemy, flooding their base with hundreds and hundreds of troops, leveling everything in sight.
4. ??????
5. Profit, or in this case, victory!

I can tell you a solid strategy in real war is to hold the high ground. The person holding high ground will have both the advantage of cover, and the enemy below has to work to even get up to you, tiring them out before the battle begins. Yet my strategy in any RTS game is "Overpower and crush them all, no matter what. Sheer numbers = victory".

• The Game Itself

From what I have played, this game is fantastic. I have nothing to compare it to, but maybe that's good? I hate reviews saying "X is better than this game". That's great, but I didn't buy that game.

I've landed, ready to eliminate Skykilla and his "green skins"


It's like any RTS-type game, except as far as I've played you can't just build bases and more troops. You're given a certain number of men that can be replenished by capturing control points, and that's it. I like that aspect of the game. It makes it feel more important. You can't just send waves of people in and rebuild anything you lose. It gives you more of a purpose when you have more to lose.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of the cover system. Both sides behind cover, firing at each other:


I love the feeling that the troops are actually helping each other, instead of just being a bunch of faceless people carrying guns to hurl bullets at each other. My commander (Me, basically) is overpowered and valiantly leads the battle each and every time. And I don't mean he's the guy screaming "Fight harder, men!" He is the guy leading every charge. When I highlight all of my characters, he's the one running ahead of everyone to hit the bad guys first.

The big blue lines sticking out of my men are actually important. They are the cover system those guys specifically (they carry mini-guns) provide, and that is the range they cover.


Notice how everyone is behind cover, and my commander is the guy sprinting out ready to fight. The big red arrow is pointing to him.


Ultimately, from what I've experienced this game is awesome. I definitely got sucked into it and hours later recovered from what appeared to be a Warhammer coma. I would get drawn into a battle and only realize how much time has passed after the battle ended. So gameplay-wise, this game is great.

• Graphics

If you judge a game by it's level of graphics, fuck you. And what I mean is that if you look at gameplay and say "Those graphics look bad", you need to be smacked in the mouth, especially if you decide whether you'll like the game based on that. Look, I understand graphics are important given you can't play a game entirely based on sound. But on one end of the spectrum, it's amazing that games even look as good as they do these days. I'm only 20 years old and I can say that compared to games I played as a kid, the games released now are absolutely insane. And on the other end, there are many great games with graphics considered "sub-par" that are out. (See Minecraft, FEZ, etc) Hell, some games still used pixelized sprites. So I refuse to even grade this game based on graphics.

If you're interested to see if your computer can handle it, here you go.

• The Achievements

Here is the important one for me. I play games almost entirely for achievements. And before you say "Wait, we can't judge based on graphics, but you can judge based on achievements?" I still play other games. I own a PS3 and though I don't play much, I have a lot of the exclusives because their games kick major ass. Whether you're an Xbox or PS3 fanboy, there is no denying PS3 has the upperhand in exclusives. But let's not get into that. Yes, I can judge based on achievements because achievements actually are a big factor in a game. I'll get into this more tomorrow. Back to the review:

This games achievements are hard as hell. Story-based achievements are very limited, as there is only a few hundred points you can get out of 2000 total. Multiplayer is a HUGE part of the achievements, which is another peeve of mine. Not multiplayer itself, but the fact that there are MP achievements. Again, I'll elaborate tomorrow.

That being said, it's a PC game. It has achievements that count towards Gamerscore, and that's awesome. I love PC games with achievements. There is some hard stuff and I never intend to complete a game of this size, but it's awesome to me that I can still get Gamerscore and play the game.

• Summary

This game is awesome. If you love achievements, RTS games, or Warhammer, go pick it up. It's cheap as hell and for such a great game, how could you pass that up? Campaign at least is easy, as I'm playing on Normal and doing just fine. I can't speak for MP yet or co-op, but if you would like to play co-op with me I'd be more than ok with that. I need someone to run through co-op with. Anyways, I'm needed in the world of Warhammer, so I must leave this review. I apologize for the somewhat scrambled thoughts and unprofessionalism. I tried, but don't take it too seriously, ok?

P.S. Forgot to mention who won the random drawing for The Maw. LSC MrSandman won. I'll send you the code in a PM, man.

Since I know some of you clicked this specifically for "Steam Giveaway", I'll clear that up first. I'm a member on Raptr, and I have apparently received a Steam gift on there. Apparently I have been given a 75% code for Serious Sam 3: BFE on there, so if you're interested, PM me about it or leave a comment. I just got the code and wouldn't want it to go to waste, you know? If I get gifts like this later, I will give them away as well.

Which reminds me, I also have a code for The Maw that I got from them. Once again, if you're interested leave a comment or PM me or something.

If enough people are interested, I'll have to do a random drawing or something. I'll wait like 24 hours for entries, and if only one person wants one of them, then they get it. You feel me?

Gaming!

First of all, I got this in the mail today:


Thankfully, the wonderful litepink and her regularly updated blog, as well as her contributions to the newsfeed on TA, led me to pick this up. This game specifically was a post on the front page of TA, but hey, I plugged her blog, go follow it. Especially if you're into cheap games and deals.

Anyway, she posted about how this game was on the GFWL DotW sale and I HAD to look into it. Someone in the comments She pointed out the game, plus it's added 1000G DLC, were on Amazon for a really cheap price and I couldn't resist. You see, I'm a bit of a sucker for computer games, especially games with Gamerscore that are extremely cheap. I'm also a fan of RTS games, for some odd reason. And this game is what, like $9? That is insane.

EDIT: She just posted this not too long ago. This is a link to the Steam version of the same sale, literally the same game I posted a picture of.

So I picked up it and honestly I have yet to install it. I'm scared if I do I will forget that I recently picked up Trine 2 and Shoot Many Robots on the console DotW. This is actually one of the big reasons I'm trying to hold back on new games this year. Every time I get a new one, I forget about the last one I bought for a bit. This builds up to a list of games I have yet to start, or have barely played and popped only one achievement in. This also leads to my completion percentage dropping. Which abruptly brings me to my final point, and hopefully an end to this already giant wall of text...

Goals!
I have yet to figure out a solid plan for weekly Gamerscore, but I can generally put up nearly 1k a week if I'm not doped up and recovering from surgery.

That being said, I am currently 103rd in Indiana for Gamerscore, and 14th in Indiana for GFWL Gamerscore, so guess what! I'm pushing for at least Top 100, and hopefully eventually Top 50. I also want #1 in GFWL. The first place guy is only like 6000G ahead of me, so it's doable. So I am off to play the hell out of some games and climb my leaderboards!

P.S. Noticed I got a new follower. You're all awesome.

First of all, sorry, but I don't have any pictures to go with this one. :/

Anyway, if you need some achievements on Minecraft, I am willing to help! If you caught one of my last blogs, you're aware of my map and 500 meter rail that is just waiting to be used.

I have completed the game almost entirely by myself (had some help building the rail, that's about it), and my current map is completely suited to complete the game. Here's a breakdown of the achievements for the game, and how easy they are:

Open Your Inventory
If you need help with this one, you're in trouble...

Getting Wood
This one is for breaking a tree. It's very easily obtainable, but in the event that you somehow can't find a tree, I am actually growing a tree farm on my map underground.

Benchmarking
This is for making a crafting table. I have literally hundreds of wooden planks laying around, not to mention a tree farm.

Time to Mine!
For making a pick-axe, once again, I have hundreds of sticks, planks, and wood blocks in my chests. No problem.

Time to Farm!
Same deal, you just gotta make a hoe this time.

Time to Strike!
Making a sword. Once again, all doable at once essentially.

MOAR Tools
After the last achievements, all you'll need to make is a shovel and axe. Easy to do.

Getting an Upgrade
This is just making a tool with a better material, in this case, cobblestone. I have so much cobblestone I should start destroying it to make room for other stuff. Easily done.

Hot Topic
Not to be confused with the store of the same name, this is for making a furnace. Can easily be done right after making all the tools, also with cobblestone.

Dispense With This
For making a dispenser, probably one of the harder ones since you have to kill a monster to get string for it. No worries, I have a few hundred strings in my chests, with bows and fishing poles already made.

Acquire Hardware
This is for smelting an iron ingot. Immediately after making the furnace, we'll start this and come back. I have plenty of iron around.

Cow Tipper
This is for killing a cow. Very easy.

Monster Hunter
Probably one of the last ones we'll do. I'll give you diamond armor and weapons, and we'll change the difficulty to easy and you can kill one really quickly.

Delicious Fish
We'll go out fishing next. Once you have a fish, we'll go back to get your iron ingot and start cooking the fish.

Bake Bread
Very easy. Have an entire wheat farm and sugar cane farm underground and above ground.

The Lie
Also easy. I have duplicated eggs, and more than enough wheat and sugar for a cake.

Leader of the Pack
I managed to duplicate hundreds and hundreds of bones, so we'll go out and quickly find five wolves for you.

Into The Nether
While we're at it, I have a built Nether portal in my backyard. I'll attach the last block and you can ignite it, and boom! Achievement.

On A Rail
I have a track that travels just over 500 meters. Easy enough to do.

When Pigs Fly
By far the single hardest one to do. I actually don't have a spot for this on my rail map, but I did manage to trap a saddled pig on a different map, so we can easily boot that map up and hook you up really fast.


Anyway, hit me up whenever you'd like to do this. Shoot me a PM on TA or on XBL, either way works. I won't be available all the time, but I will try to help people as much as I can.

Cheers!
- Jake

So this is kind of the rambling thoughts of someone drugged up on Loritabs. And before you jump to anything, I had a surgery where my four wisdom teeth plus a broken tooth was removed today. So no I don't pop pills like drugs. For those that may be unaware, Loritabs are a really strong painkiller, and let me tell you they're working wonders right now.

Now there were varying expectations with this procedure and my reactions to the drugs. I figured I'd just be a little out of it for a while based on research I did and accounts from friends. My family expected me to act like my brain had been swapped with someone mentally insane. Here is what happened:

I have never had surgery or anything so I was asking the nurse and then surgeon what would happen. The nurse was showing me the IV and how it would work, and since I had never had one I was excited to see it in action. Yes, I have a boyish wonder for modern medicine and technology. I am still amazed by what happened today, honestly. So anyway, the IV was extremely small, and I barely felt anything at all. I have a weird...thing with needles. Not afraid of them, but I really hate the minor pains like those. But this actually went really well. She hooked me up to a heart monitor and that was cool too. I was slowing and speeding up my heart to watch it. Again, yes, I'm aware that I'm goofy. But I have childish wonder for cool shit! Remember how exciting and new everything was as a kid? I still get that sometimes. If you find something that does that for you, hold onto it tight because it's amazing and chances are you could love it and make it a career.

Anyway, they put a mask on over my nose and said they were going to give me the anesthesia. Then they're are carrying me out of the office out of the procedure. Apparently I went out that fast. Haha I don't remember too much afterwards. I remember suddenly being in Wal-Mart (with my family of course so I wasn't in any danger. They actually escorted me everywhere.) and wandering around in there. Apparently I tried to buy alcohol because I thought it wasn't alcohol and it looked good. Haha I also went to the bathroom since I was drooling and bleeding on myself, so I could wash up. According to my brother who went in with me, I was just washing my hands and face, and I went to use those hand dryer things. Apparently, I started saying they were really disgusting and covered in germs, and I said it was because guys would have sex with them. He said the other people were dying laughing in the bathroom, even more so because I then started humping it. It is fortunate I didn't get naked. Haha

As I type this, these pills have completely killed the pain and put me in a fun and good mood. I don't really have much more to say, but I do think it's completely insane that I had TEETH CUT OUT TODAY. I know that seems minor to some people, but seeing how advanced technology is really blows my mind sometimes. I don't know, it blows my mind. I can't really describe it. I'll blog more personal stuff another time.

However, here are some pictures from the fun!

I snagged this immediately after surgery. I don't remember a bit.


I took this in Wal-Mart. Again, don't remember a damn thing. Apparently my brother was trying to make me laugh the whole time. And according to him, I was talking really loud and laughing even louder the whole time.


I really don't know the context of this picture. Haha


Apparently I was talking about my tongue feeling weird, and said "it feels like sandpaper touching sandpaper". I was stoned out of my mind from anesthesia, don't hate. Haha


My mom actually took this. She thought it was funny, apparently, that I was drooling on myself. Apparently I tried to drink something and spilled it all over me. Again, I don't remember.


Here's me actually attempting to drink something. My entire front lip was so numb I couldn't control it so it was like learning to drink again. On the upside, I definitely made it look stylish.

I noticed I gained two followers since my early morning post. You guys/girls rock.

Ok, so as you all know I left off at about 280 meters to go. I stopped here:


Well here I am building out to show what the next 80 meters looks like, ending at 300.


And then I caught the rest of the massive bridge up to the marker.


Taken from the same spot as the second picture in this post, only this time the bridge is caught up.


Apparently I worked until dawn?


I finally finished it....well, obviously the actual tracks aren't on it yet.


I started renovating from the 200 meter mark, even though it looks like the sign says 300 meters...


The last picture I took of the renovations, before I managed to get the tracks on.


So after I finally finished it all, I decided to do a video tour of the thing, and pretty much everything in the pictures I took.


So here's what's going down: I won't be able to help anyone with achievements this week. I am getting all four wisdom teeth removed tomorrow, plus another tooth. So I am probably going to be doped up on painkillers all week. I have no real clue how it's going to go though. I could be healed and good to go by Wednesday. I'm going to shoot for helping people with achievements this weekend as long as I am able to talk by then. Haha obviously friends and followers/subscribers get first dibs, then later I'll probably set up sessions.

The achievements I could help with: Pretty much everything except for "When Pigs Fly". The solution on here is actually a much easier way to get it then having me help. I can guaranteed get you "On A Rail", obviously, and I have all the materials for every other achievement. I have a Nether portal in my backyard that can be broken and re-lit repeatedly. I can duplicate bones for wolves so people can get that. If you would like help, just let me know and I'd be glad to. Comment on this, or shoot me a message on here or on Xbox Live.

Once again though, I'd like to stress that I really can't do much until the weekend. I can maybe squeeze a few people in tonight, though. Basically, I am winging it and seeing what happens. Haha