The next block takes me to my first surprise, another surprise, and …a third… thing. That’s about all I got for this intro. Maybe I shouldn’t have written this one so late at night.

Episode 16: World of Tanks
I really did not expect this to go anywhere when I started it. In fact my first match into the game I HATED it. It felt slow, weird and all too easy to die, but after a while, I fell for it, hard. I just wish I could say I stuck with it. As of late, WoT has falling into a very similar fate as League of Legends. Excessive popularity coupled with a fanatic fanbase of min-maxers who would rather shout down teammates, than work with. All the lighthearted stuff they’ve been doing as a one-off (like Tank Races) seems interesting, but not enough to pull me away from something like War Thunder. WoT is unquestionably the “arcade-shooter” of the tank games, which is funny when I consider my initial attempt to approach it like one got me wrecked. I guess one the veneer peels, the flaws come out. And yes, Gold Shells are bullshit. Yes, you can buy them with player points. Doesn’t make them less bullshit.
Recommended?: Unless you think War Thunder does it better, YES.

Episode 17: La Tale
Speaking of expecting nothing and getting everything, holy crap, did I love La Tale. I still do. It’s pretty much the pinnacle of the platformer MMO for me, and as much as Maple players want to complain about the floaty jumping, and combat, I’ll take that over repetitive stick whacking and bunny hops any day of the week. The communities claim of “the friendliest MMO community” still held true both times I looked at it, but the out of game community hopping onto my youtube and trying to bitch at my leveling methods can eat a bag of dicks, as per the usual. At least the revamp made the game more streamlined, if not a bit more cramped feeling, and the combat improvement was a definite thumbs up. If cute 2D platformer MMOs are something you want to get into, I cannot praise La Tale enough. The translation is still pretty pants, though.
Recommended?: YES.

Episode 18: Champions Online
Hey, it’s that game I kept saying I would backtrack and never did! There IS a rather amusing link that Champions has to the show, however. It’s the reason I decide to stick with a game “just a little longer” than I feel needed to review it. Yes, I understand for most people that’s “endgame” and again, if that’s what you feel is most important and you insist that be part of this show, go away, but there is a certain tipping point between a bad first impression, and a secondary realization of how it all works, that makes things much more enjoyable. I honestly regretted the hell out of my decision to buy Champions Online when it was new, but time with the game (and a thorough reading of a strategy guide at a nearby Best Buy) helped me understand of the mechanics and it became a lot more enjoyable. So much I upgraded my PC to handle the graphics, which nowadays, look like a joke. However, something about Champions just keeps me from wanting to play it, and is most of the reason you have yet to see a backtrack despite the numerous game-changing updates it underwent since the review. I still think it was pretty decent, though.
Recommended?: YES.