Foreshadowing?

I saw something I had never seen, as of yet, while I was logging into Warcraft.  I was waiting on the loading screen and glanced down at the little blurb underneath the loading screen art.  Usually, I read something along the lines of "Don't stand in fire" or some other random piece of advice.  Today I read, "Tip: Nobody has seen Alleria and Turalyon in years.  I'm staring at this and getting myself far more excited than I should.  

First of all, how is this a tip?  Usually a Warcraft tip is along the lines of "Companion pets are account-wide. If one of your character has a pet, all your characters can use that pet."  You know what I think, this is more foreshadowing than a normal game tip.  They are leaving us trails of hints and clues to what the upcoming expansion will be. 

I had originally thought we were going to have another Burning Legion expansion, along the way we would stumble across Alleria and Turalyon.  But here's what I'm thinking now.

We are not ready for another Burning Legion expansion.  We are not ready for Sargeras, so I'm pushing that aside.  I have a few different scenarios for how this is going to play out, all of which involve the old "dark portal" crew.  

Several possible scenarios can unfold for Danath Trollbane.  He is currently sitting in Honor Hold as we speak in the same loop with Alleria and Turalyon's son, Arator the Redeemer.  Scenario #1: Danath and "little Arator" (who's not so little anymore) set out on an expedition to find Alleria and Turalyon.  This may lead us to new zones in the Outlands.  Scenario #2:  Danath Trollbane takes back Stromgarde giving the Alliance another major city (a matching Horde city will also pop up somewhere in the world).  Scenario #3:  This one I've been wondering about for quite some time.  When Deathwing ransacked Stormwind, one statue fell over.  It was the statue of Danath Trollbane.  I always considered this to be an omen and Danath is going to die somehow.  Whether its in scenario 1, 2, or elsewhere.  I know that the statue has been fixed, but I still think of this as an omen.

Khadgar is currently located in Shattrath.  I don't think he's going to return to Dalaran and be with the Kirin Tor, but he will be their representative in the Outlands.  If anyone has read any of the Warcraft books, you probably came across this juicy little fact.  Khadgar witnessed or dreamt his own death.  He knows that he dies beneath a sky of orange.  When he first stepped through the Dark Portal he realised that the Draenor sky was the sky he saw in his vision.  There really aren't too many scenarios for Khadgar.  If Danath and Arator go off in search of Turalyon and Alleria, he is coming along.  We may or may not see his death yet.

Kurdran Wildhammer has jumped around a fair bit, so its hard to say if he would make his return.  He was in Shadowmoon Valley at the Wildhammer Stronghold, but during Cataclysm moved to Victor's Point in the Twilight Highlands.  If he is involved in the future expansion in any way, he's probably the one who's going to come across the information of their whereabouts.  

Originally, I had thought that we would be battling the Burning Legion in the same expansion, but after pondering it awhile I really think that having Turalyon and Alleria back before this happens would make things so much better.  Having an expansion where we find these heroes again would be fantastic, but what would the horde do??  I have my own prediction for this, but first I want to know what you think?  Let me know in the comments below.

As always I hope you enjoyed this piece of random ramblings.  If you would like, follow me on twitter @akadarcee and send me a like on facebook: here.  These are the two places that are updated with everything I do, whether its streaming on twitch or posting on youtube.  It would also help to subscribe to both of those as well.  If you have any questions that you would like me to cover feel free to send them in via facebook, twitter, or email (akadarcee@gmail.com).  Catch you guys later.

Gaming News!!

I'm really not going to keep to any kind of schedule, but I would like to start posting a weekly mash-up of interesting news worthy stories.  So... here we go.

Another SWTOR Server Merger

Only this time the Asian servers are merging with the American servers.  Bioware community manager, Eric Musco stated that the decision was guided by community feedback. "One common theme from suggestions, which we heard clearly, is that everyone wants the opportunity to play on higher populated servers.  With this in mind, we have evaluated all the options and determined that the best solution, that will offer the best long term play experience, is to merge the APAC servers with higher populated North American Servers."  No date has been announced for when the merge will happen.  

Square-Enix CEO Yoichi Wada Is Stepping Down

Remember those days where a new title was announced and you knew it was going to be good because you saw the name Square-Enix.  Well things have very much changed in the last few years, with the problems that Final Fantasy XIV brought them and how Tomb Raider and Hitman: Absolution did not meet their sales "expectations."  Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada is stepping down after thirteen years with the company.    So what's next for Square Enix?  Twelve year Square Enix employee, Yosuke Matsuda, will be taking his place and hopefully the company will be getting an over-haul.

 Counter-Strike Map Resembles A BC School

It's the same story.  We have a massive tragedy and the finger pointing begins.  If its not guns then it must be video games.  But, I'm choosing to not debate this , instead I'm going to tell you about a counter-strike map that was made resembling Port Moody Secondary School in British Columbia, Canada.  While there are no students or teachers being killed it still feels a little wrong to me.  I don't know if its because the map looks so close to the actual school or if its because the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting is still fresh in my mind.  The map's developer has stated that he was working on this project before the December 14th incident and that there are dozens of counter-strike maps that are other schools.   "Port Moody Secondary is a great school. We certainly did not single it out for malicious reasons. . . . Its architecture and design is rather ideal for the game’s tactics,” the developer says.   During a time where violent video games are again being questioned, something like this feels like its just "fanning the flames."  I want to know what you think, debate it out in the comments below.

PAX East Highlights

PAX East was this week, March 22nd - 24th, and there were tons of announcements and highlights.  While I didn't get to go (stupid passports), here's some of the announcements that excited me.  Bioware announced that they are making a new fictional universe.   What do we know about it?  Very little, actually.  I'll try and keep you posted as more news surfaces.  Diablo 3 is coming to PS3 & PS4.  Most everyone had already heard that, but there we go it's been announced.  I personally found Diablo 3 fun, but boring at the same time.  I beat it once and never played it again.  The idea, however, of being able to sit on the couch and play it with four of my console gaming friends is kind of intriguing.   Blizzard announced their secret project that was not a sequel, expansion, or the rumoured Titan project.  While I was really hoping to see Blizzard All Stars, the announcement they made was just as exciting.  It's almost what I call a "guilty pleasure" game.  You will be able to play the Warcraft trading cards game on your PC, Mac, and iPad.  I will be doing a full write up of everything we know on this because there is just too much for right here.  Capcom, I think, surprised everyone by announcing the return of... Ducktales!!  While similar to the Nintendo version, you are Scrooge McDuck and you are working your way around the world treasure hunting.  My son is going to play the crap out of this game!!  Again, I will keep you posted as more information surfaces.

That's it for this week.  If you have any comments please leave them below.  Don't forget to follow me on twitter @akadarcee.  I've slowly begun to stream a little more over at twitch.tv/akadarcee and some of highlights are being uploaded to youtube.com/akadarcee, so don't forget to subscribe to those.  I just, just made a facebook page, which is pretty empty right now, so head over there and give me a like facebook.com/akadarcee.  I also really appreciate it if you have a story you want me to cover.  Get a hold of me on twitter, facebook, or send me an email akadarcee@gmail.com.  Thanks for reading guys!!

Broken Realm: A Crystal Saga Chronical

  Is it just me, or does it feel like all these “new” browser based MMO's are just the same thing over and over again? I'm at a point where I'm barely paying attention to the dialogue/story anymore. I just don't care. It looks the same and it feels the same.

  So, let's take a look at Broken Realm by R2games. I had never even heard of this game until I was searching through a list of open betas I'd like to try and the name caught my eye. I scanned their page and really found no information on what the game was about. The most I got from it was that Broken Realm is a medieval-fantasy MMORPG. Upon searching through other pages and scanning other peoples reviews, I now know that it is a follow up to Crystal Saga: Origins. To briefly sum it up, the beloved Queen has died and we now have a new King. We join his army and work our way up to find out everything is not as it seems. I made it 11 minutes in.

  Now, don't get me wrong. I have full intentions of playing this game and getting further in. You never know, it could get better.

  But, lets forget about my whining and complaining and lets talk game features. Character creation is mediocre, but was exactly what I expected for the type of game. Each class is pre-made. You just click on what you want to be and that is who you are, no custom made dilly-dallying. There are four classes: Barbarian, Archer, Paladin, and Mage, and you can choose to be male or female. I chose to try the paladin.

  The graphics are 2.5D, which has been feeling like the trend for browser based games. While I tend to enjoy a more cartoony style, as opposed to realistic graphics, this style of game tends to bore me. I really don't feel like I'm part of the game.

  Autopathing!! I've played other games where autopathing felt all right. I could chat on the phone and still quest. I never felt like I was missing out on any story and I still felt involved. In Broken Realm it does not feel right. I think this is because you begin with autopathing already turned on. So, I get into the game and my character is running from quest giver to quest giver and I barely know what's going on. Yes, you can turn it off and I eventually did. As it turns out, you only get one hour of autopathing (as a free to play player).

  Combat is pretty straight forward and probably the most fun for me. I just pointed and clicked and my character did the rest, alternating between my various abilities. Before I knew it, I was level 5 and had no idea how I got there. After a bit of research, I discovered that Broken Realm has a high experience gain, so levelling does go by quite quickly. There are dungeons available to explore and I hope to give them a try in the near future. Same goes for their PVP.

  What did I enjoy? The music!! It really made the game feel like the medieval-fantasy game it is supposed to be. Not once did I feel the need to turn it off or down a little. While it's not something I'm going to listen to all day, I definitely didn't need to pull up iTunes.

  Should you play it? It's free to play, so its not like you'll be out anything but your time. Personally, from what I've read about where the story will take us, I really want to keep my eyes on this game. Perhaps, a few changes will be made that will keep my attention.

  If you would like to keep up on any of my reviews, blogs, or just want to hang out then you need to subscribe. Follow me on twitter: @akadarcee, youtube.com/akadarcee, twitch.com/akadarcee and I now have a Facebook page that is pretty dead right now facebook.com/akadarcee. Hopefully, I will be posting, streaming, and making a lot more content for you guys. Thanks for reading!!