Ok, I’ve given it enough time, let’s do this thing.

First off, let’s again reiterate that The Secret World is now subscription-less, but NOT free. Taking the buy to play route has really grabbed the media, and as I said in the review of the game, the biggest hurdle for people was that subscription requirement. Now, with a 30 dollar buy-in (HALF of Guild Wars 2, mind you) you get to experience all available story content, with no restrictions to powers, travel or chat ability. The only paid content will be in the form of Issues, which will go for 5 dollars per content pack, and you have the option to subscribe fer perks, like free monthly items and Funcom points. The same goes for Lifetime subbers.

After the popularity of my SWTOR review consisted of mostly people looking to yell at the free-to-play restrictions, I’ll just let people know right now that a few of them have been lifted. Apparently now all quickbars are available, (despite me never actually reporting on that) meaning you can have 4 without having to pay for them. It also seems the limit on created characters has been lifted SLIGHTLY, and from what I understand it only applies to premium (5 dollar purchase) players anyway. The only other commentary was my saying that voice acting was weak. I am not saying ALL of it was weak, but there was a LOT of weak voice acting. Sorry. There was. Put a random NPC up against ANY NPC in The Secret World and you’ll know exactly what I meant. SWTOR acting is “put on an accent and call it a day.” There’s very little REAL emotion in ANYTHING said. Trust me here. Why would one Twilek on Hutta speak like a redneck and another sound like a stereotypical Canadian? It’s stupid, I’m sorry. The final complaint was on the stories, but sorry, that’s kinda subjective. For every one person who told me the Jedi Knight or Imperial Agent storyline was amazing, there were others telling me how every story was lame and pointless. It’s all opinion there, and while one might feel that some stories are weaker than others, bot everyone is going to answer that question the same. So I didn’t talk about it, because it’s just flame bait.
Overall performance of the review has been positive, certainly better than recent numbers and unquestionably better than the numbers on RaiderZ (which I’ll get into next OWU).

As for a recent title that I did look at, and don’t feel the need to give it a while before reporting on, AirMech, my first Browser-Based I’ve done in a long time. Apparently it’s a “spiritual successor” to a Genesis (Megadrive) game called “Herzog Zwei”. A game that, shockingly, predates all MOBA genres and even the game credited to start the popularity of the RTS genre. And… when it was new, everyone fucking hated it. This is a PRIME example of a game that was “ahead of its time”, a phrase that I feel gets overused for things that were generally crappy, but found a new audience later on, but in this case it’s a deserved use. EGM gave Herzog Zwei some of the most pathetic scores they could give, mostly 4s, a 6 and a 3. This was clearly a game NOT made for the time it was released in. It also apparently gained a cult following in recent years, and is now considered a groundbreaking classic. I decided to share this info with you for one reason. I HATE when I overlook something like this. I was an NES/SNES kid, and due to a twitch of fate and a poor console choice by my father, (He thought Turbo-Grafx 16 had more potential and bought me that when I requested a Genesis), I never got into the Genesis titles outside of a few friends who had the Sonic titles. I just thought it was an interesting tidbit of information, and to know that AirMech isn’t a game blending current market trends, but giving new life to a sadly overlooked innovator.

As for Browser-Based, I’ve decided to be a LOT more lenient in what I choose to review in that spin-off show. For example, I was recently shown “Gameglobe” and despite it hardly qualifying for a full Grinder, or even as an MMO, it’s got a unique enough social aspect that makes me think it might be worth showcasing. Of course some BB games still will prove tough to adapt, especially those with no sort of music or graphic interface.

Final note: Those who’ve been paying attention to my twitter, either account, and if you’re not, just look at the twitter Sidebar on the site, and you’ll see the latest tweets from the @MMO_Grinder account, might have noticed I’ve taken up a bit of livestreaming. Due to (occasional) demand, I was able to get something up in order to stream the games I wish to, be it future Grinder eps, old favorites, or what I enjoy streaming the most, The Secret World. Come by and check it out at Twitch.tv/ChaosD1 and keep an eye on twitter, or the Twitter Sidebar on this site, to see when I go up. You can even check it to see what’s been recorded in the past but be wary that without an active chat it will just sound like I’m talking to myself. I’m PLANNING on doing one tomorrow, so check back and join in when it’s announced. I use it as a Q&A as well as a simple chat, so if you have questions you wanted to ask me live, feel free to stop by.