Grand Campaign, Anyone?

Arcthos reporting after a somewhat extended hiatus (Sorry folks, it looks like we may need to reorganize our posting schedule. College can take up a lot of your time!). I thought I'd bring to your attention a game I started playing over this summer. This is another one for all of you strategy fans: Europa Universalis 3. I haven't even completed a full game yet, but I have been suitably pleased with what I've found so far.

HURRY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST

Hey, it's beruset. I apologize immensely for not posting in so long, and for this post in particular being so late.  Valve is offering the original Portal free on Steam until September 20th as part of their "Learn with Portals" program.  That gives you two days from the time I hit publish.  It's not a whole lot of time, but as long as you're up on this blog, you don't need a whole lot of time.

Recarm! + Exciting News for Persona Fans

Hello hello! Kisa here, reviving the blog from the dead (though I suppose I inadvertently K.O.ed it to be begin with >.>;;;)! Anger not, for I bring good tidings to the fans of Atlus and/or the Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series!

While the Dragons Still Sleep

Bethesda is releasing a game in a little over 2 months. Perhaps you've heard of it. It's called Skyrim. I know myself and many others are eagerly awaiting the release of the next installment in the Elder Scrolls series this November, and for good reason: as has been announced and shown off in the demos thus far, this will be the first time dragons are present in an Elder Scrolls game (not including mods, of course). Here's a look at some of the features I've heard about and my thoughts on them.

Diablo 3, or how to make a game drop off my radar faster than you can say "WTF."

So, Diablo 3. A game I've been looking forward to with great anticipation since it was announced.

And then we get things like this.

Now, the no mods doesn't really bother me, since that should in some measure prevent botting. From how I currently understand it, the cash trades don't either, since you're buying from other players, not from "the game".

However, always online? No LAN? AGAIN? I don't know about anyone else, but that's one of the main reasons I absolutely didn't buy Starcraft II. So it looks like I'll be avoiding Diablo 3 as well, for the same reasons. Anyone have any good recommendations for similar games? I've heard Torchlight 2 looks/sound promising.

Win with Science, Culture, or Napalm

In case you're wondering, yes, I did shamelessly take that line from a BrentalFloss song (and if you're not familiar with it, you can listen here). So I was looking around Steam today, and I noticed that their weekend deal is 66% off Civilization 5 (viewable here), which is quite a sale considering it still normally sits at a $50 price tag. In honor of this event, I've decided to write a review for the latest installment in Sid Meier's popular turn-based strategy series.

Family Guy MMO: Freakin' Sweet?

Fox has recently announced a Family Guy MMO set to launch later this year. Being the fan that I am, I had to check it out. It's free-to-play and browser based, so if you love Family Guy like me, or just want another reason to dog on 'em, you should check it out. 

Social Link Go!

Hello all! Blue Ranger Kisa here to talk about a particular game mechanic that I, personally, thoroughly enjoy and can see much possibility in. Being someone who plays a lot of RPG video games and visual novel type games, I’m a huge geek for character depth, design, and development (try saying that ten times fast), so any opportunity to learn about the characters in the game is a good opportunity. The Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series, particularly 3 and 4, introduces the concept of Social Links, allowing the player to choose how much they can learn about certain characters and gauging the strength of those bonds.

The Haunted Ruins

Hey everybody, I have a fun way for you to waste a couple hours. I recently came upon a free browser game called:

The Haunted Ruins

In this game you are on a quest to save a town from the monsters that have recently appeared in - can you guess? - some old abandoned ruins. In order to do so, you must enter the ruins with your trusty sword and shield and fight the good fight, with the monsters becoming tougher as you traverse to deeper levels.

Kerbal Space Program

Sanevin here again, everyone, and I've got an awesome game for everyone to play.

Introducing: Kerbal Space Program!

It's free to play, though currently in development. The basic premise is for the player to manage their own space program and see how far they can make it into space. And now, I'm off to play it some more. Enjoy!

Pre-owned Controversy

I've been hearing a lot of debate over a few gaming headlines lately, so I thought I'd share and see what everyone thinks.

Nintendo takes a Dual-Screen Approach...Again

I have another E3 related post for everybody, and this time Nintendo is in the spotlight. As many of you may know by now, Nintendo is launching a "new" console, the Wii U. Now, in the hype leading up to their press conference, I was expecting an entirely new console with a new look, new hardware, everything you would expect. So great was my surprise when the innovation I was presented with was a small, hand-held television.

Missed Possibilities - PS3 Remote Play

Now, believe it or not, this last Saturday, I got to mess with a PS3 for the first time. As an avid PSP player, I’ve always been curious about the “Remote Play” function that would connect the two systems. So I investigated.

Torsion

Hey everybody, Sanevin here. Thought I'd bring your attention to an interesting video/game mechanic I found:

http://www.vimeo.com/25620314

Something like this could have fascinating implications in a puzzle game, especially something already potentially mind-boggling such as Valve's Portal series. Imagine using both this and portals to try to accomplish a puzzle. Especially with the bits that are showcased near the end, with the moving parts and the rolling ball. Absolutely mind-breakingly awesome.

Summer Sale Frustration

So I was on steam today and I noticed that part of their "summer camp" sale is a package that includes The Sims 3, all the stuff packs, and all the gameplay expansions for exactly $10 more than I originally paid for the base game. http://store.steampowered.com/sub/8665/?snr=1_200_200_258_104

Some Enthusiasm for Kinect

I was watching E3 a few weeks ago and I was impressed by the functionality I saw for the X-Box Kinect. I've been hesitant about the Kinect and it's motion sensing capabilities in the past, not to mention there weren't many games for it I wanted to play, but I liked what I saw during the Microsoft press conference.

Introductions are in Order

Hey everybody. I'm Arcthos, and welcome to The Players' Consortium! We're here to blog about a subject near and dear to many of you: videogames! Look for any comments by me in this golden Trebuchet font.

Hello internet. I am Kisa and I will be the blue courier-styled artsy ranger for this blog. Please join us for geek rants on video games and things related to video games and feel free to constructively critcize us as we learn about the wonderful world of blogging.

Hey! I'm beruset and I have no idea what I'm doing! Keep that in mind when you see green verdana. Hopefully I'll get this all sorted out and bring you the very best in amateur blogging.

Heyo, I'm Sanevin, and I'll be messin around with the colors until I find something that clicks with the background. I intend to talk mostly about free-to-play and indie games, possibly covering some of the technical side of things as well.

Edit: Looks like the white works like I thought it would, excellent.