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Warcraft: Movie Review

A Blizzard swept across the dry landscape of gaming in 1994 as a group of orcs from the land of Draenor entered the realm of Azeroth and went to war against the humans living there. While many won’t remember the plot of one of the first real-time strategy games (before the boom of the RTS launches in the 90s), it would be hard to forget the iconic birds-eye view. Nostalgic flashes come and go throughout the 123 minute, $160 million dollar pre-Summer blockbuster to capture the attention of fans to the series, but how does the movie fare without its relationship to the video game it’s based off of? Let’s discuss it all.

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#14 Greatest Video Game of All Time

Yet, again, there has been a big gap between this series! We apologize, as sometimes it takes a bit to get everyone’s entries in. If you are new to this countdown, it’s just a top 25 list of our most favorite video games!  These are the ones you’ve missed so  far: #25, #24,#23, #22, #21, #20 #19#18#17#16, and #15. Let’s dive into #14!

Kai – X-COM – I’ve played three versions of X-COM: The original, X-COM UFO Defense, the third version X-COM Apocalypse, and the latest offering from Firaxis XCOM: Enemy Unknown/Within.  The original was revolutionary in scope, with everything from morale to technology research, and still holds up very well today.  

X-Com is half real-time strategic base management and half turn-based top-down tactical squad management.  The basic story is that aliens are real and are terrorizing human cities.  You’re put in charge of defending earth from this alien threat.

During the base management phase, you train/recruit soldiers, build weapons/vehicles, dispatch people on missions, and research alien artifacts to get new technology.  When a mission happens, it switches to the tactical mode, where you explore alien wrecks, kill/capture alien soldiers, and rescue civilians.

The games are difficult but addictive, enticing you to complete just one more mission with your squad of veteran troops.  You care deeply about your veteran soldiers as you’ve played with them for multiple hours and it’s very painful to lose one (or a whole shipful).  The theme is well-integrated and the gameplay is very tight, where every action you take is meaningful and possibly dangerous.  If you’re looking to blow an afternoon tracking down aliens and defending earth, I highly recommend picking up something from the X-COM series.

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New Gaming Obsession: Hearthstone

WARNING: Nerd alert! If you aren’t into games and stuff, you probably won’t love this post.

You’ll have to blame my brother for this one, it’s all his fault! He told me about this game and pestered me to play it. And I did. Big mistake. I’m hooked! As you guys should know, we are nerds and love video games and such. This game is very simple, yet very addictive. It has this element that keeps dragging you back in for more. I almost didn’t write a post today because I wanted to play instead (yeah, it’s that bad).

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Hearthstone is almost (but not really) a sub-game of World of Warcraft (the massively multiplayer online game that thousands of people play). It’s in open beta right now (which means it’s open to the public to play and it’s in beta stage of testing, meaning the game is free, but it may be bugged). The main point of that last sentence is that it is free right now. All you have to do is register for a Battle.net account (also free) and you’re good. If you have played Starcraft, Diablo, WoW, or other Blizzard games, you will most likely already have an account.

I say it is a “sub-game” of WoW because it is based in the Warcraft world with all the classes from WoW and such. It is a card game. Kind of like Magic: The Gathering for World of Warcraft…but it’s free…and online! It combines strategy, timing, luck, and skill to best your adversaries whether they be computer characters or real people. Just like in WoW, you level up your characters (you play as a certain class and the more you play with that class, the better you and your deck gets) and try to beat all the classes in order to unlock all of them. As you level up, you get more packs and more cards to add to your deck. The game also gives you quests to usher you along in your playing. You can play casual or ranked matches against real people. Once you unlock all the classes, you can try your turn in the “Arena,” a place where you go as long as you can until you are beat three times. I’m just highlighting all the different aspects of the game, there is much more to it!

This game makes you think (and curse) and always challenges you to do better. It is in the familiar world of Warcraft, which I enjoy, and you can focus on the class you like the most (a Druid, for myself). It is absolutely worth giving a go, and if you do, add me! My user is Ewoky (was my username I chose growing up). It’s perfect for some weekend relaxation. Click here to download, and no, Blizzard is not paying me (but I wouldn’t mind if they did!). And as always…stay hungry and fit!

*Question of the Day: What game are you addicted to?

BONUS KITTY PIC

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