Adventures in Altis: Arma 3 #1

So, as promised in my perspective post, here is a tale of great and hilarious adventure in my favourite Arma 3 multiplayer mode: Altis Life.
This mode is supposed to try and simulate a sort of 'Arma life' where you role play as a citizen of Altis (the main island of two in the game). However, as could be predicted, things are not quite as sophisticated.

My friends and I embark on a quest to find adventure and a few good laughs, and as always we are not disappointed. This screenshot montage will allow you to walk through our gametime as a citizen of Altis.

 First spawning into the main town of Kavala, where most of the shenanigans go down; we make our way towards the town DMV, where the car shop and market are located.

 The town square had changed slightly from the last time I'd seen it, introducing this female statue and a very annoying bell tower.

 As a few people were around but nothing going on particularly, we proceed to make our own fun. One of the past times my friend and I have on Arma is to start cult followings of various things. Lately we have been praising the God-Player Martinez, the bringer of music; but this statue has presented us with a new opportunity. 

 We begin to proclaim the holiness of our beloved Queen Margaret, and (unusually to be frank) begin to attract a following.

 As more people arrive through our emphatic sermon, we begin to pray to the new idol of Altis. Our praying resembles what one might call rolling around in a circle, but I can promise you it has much greater symbolic significance. 

 Soon there are more people than we have ever gathered in prayer before giving their affection to Queen Margaret, saviour of Altis.

 However, as always, the police are not far away in kavala and decide to intervene before the new converts pose a threat to peace. This ends the prayer to Margaret, leaving us absent of her love.

 For some, the lost faith is too much. People crowd around and police attempt to stop this poor soul from taking his life in a desperate attempt to 'relieve his family of his burden'.  Unsuccessful tries to convince him that life is worth living and that Margaret is only around the corner waiting fail.

The man decides to jump, only to surprise us by surviving the fall unharmed; he must surely be protected by our gracious Queen (or a safezone, it's not particularly clear).

 Sadly the authorities were unhappy with this development and prosecute those who instigated this disturbance (thankfully missing out the fact that myself and my compatriot were the founders). We see them here taking them away in vehicles paid for by their corrupt actions against the church of Margaret!

 We head over to the police department in order to set up a protest but soon get bored. People are not as courageous when jail is only 20 steps away.

 We return to Margaret to pray to her one last time, with our congregation faltering our last respects to this bountiful deity of Altis are given.

 Our quest continues, an attempt to leave Kavala ends in a crash (due to lag he insists), leaving my friend's truck a wheel down with only legs to take us back to civilisation.

 We return and are joined by another fellow, this time to find that the population have decided to entertain themselves. A street party with dancing ensues. The police are no where to be seen.

 Festivities are disrupted by an explosion, not an uncommon occurrence I must say. This time, a car must have collided at full speed into a wall nearby. Medics were too late to save the poor driver.

 Authorities finally arrive and arrest those involved in the street party, as traffic was severely delayed. You can see here the level of police brutality used, as a poor innocent joker was tased by an officer. This time I could not avoid capture. My friend was fined for his actions, but the officer held me captive for so long I was able to escape the bonds which prevented my freedom.

With this, I was able to mourn a poor soul who became the victim of a hit and run incident in the town centre. Margaret must not have been so merciful here. Or at least that was what I thought until he miraculously stood up, his wounds healed. Praise the one true Queen!

This marked the beautiful end of this adventure in Arma 3, a real happy ending among such chaos. Every visit to this troubled island brings a new journey, and next time I will regale you with another story! Think about trying the game which is available via Steam at the moment for £35.99, but will surely be on sale at some point for less.

Apologies that this is a few days late, I have moved into my new flat and have been having trouble with the M2TW game meaning that the Petty Kings mod showcase that was planned was not possible. Hopefully these problems will desist and I'll be writing a new article this week.

This server is my personal favourite: FTP Gaming check it out!

Journeying Through Dota 2 #1

Day 44: (1062 hours)

I think it's about time I put all this time and effort for dota into something productive. 

Stuck around 2.3k MMR I contemplate my way to be able to win any game as I suffer from another losing streak. After months of on and off play, is this really what I have come to? It doesn't help that I haven't played properly for a while, Dota is a difficult game to master at the best of times. You definitely get rusty quickly if you take a break. Perhaps it is my inability to play the same heroes well consecutively, maybe the fact that my teammates let me down, or could be because I cannot however hard I try last hit well early game.

All these things matter in a game of Dota, along with many others. Despite my inability to progress above what some may describe on Dota 2 reddit as 'ELO Hell' I am fortunate in knowing a few of these key things if I am not myself able to implement them into my game. 

Had a great time with tidehunter, he's a very strong hero in the game at the moment; hard to kill unless you have a lot of burst damage and with a devastating area of effect stun. Played two games and did well, won and lost though.

Tidehunter - Copyright Valve

Currently looking for the next captain's mode/captain's draft ranked game. I find that in ranked, all pick at this level is a little more toxic and so I've decided to avoid it. However, this means I have to rely on a pub captain. To be fair, I consider myself a decent dota theorist when not under pressure. I draft okay, but the pressure of having a time limit often means that I don't perfectly judge the situation, which is strange because pressure usually doesn't affect me so much.

...Sometime later...
Perhaps after another loss, I should go back to watching the pros...

Perspective: 27/08/2014

So my perspective of gaming currently is what I will hopefully showcase in these blog posts. Things that I am playing and excited for, as well as some news and opinions.

What am I playing? 

Dota 2

As per the norm for almost the last 20 months Dota is at the top of this list. Over 800 games in I am still terrible, I play mostly with my friends and I have to say that is the best way to play Dota. I am currently practising Io or Wisp and still taking up the role of support. For those of you who have no idea what dota is, I suggest checking out:

http://www.purgegamers.com/

&

https://www.youtube.com/user/DotaCinema

Purge is who you're usually directed to via the Dota 2 community if you want to learn more, while I personally prefer DotaCinema for some more fun videos as well as some good teaching.

Alongside this I am paying great interest to the pro-gaming side of Dota 2, if you haven't heard about the international then basically it was a tournament where the top professional teams of Dota 2 players from around the world, were invited to Seattle, to compete for a total prize pool of over $10,000,000.

This competition was it's fourth iteration, and fourth year of existence. Financed by the game developer and Steam creator, Valve as well as over $8,000,000 from the community.

After each international, the teams seem to have a down period of a month or so, it is now when most of the rosters change and this year is no exception. In Europe, a previously stable and top tier team Na'Vi (short for Natus Vincere), based in Ukraine have lost two long standing players. This goes along with Alliance, who were last years winners, having a remodel in lineup after both failed to reach the dizzy heights of the Grand Final.

These are not nearly all of the changes though with a new 'secret' team being announced amongst others. Over in the Chinese scene things are very much the same as this years international finalists and runners up ViCi Gaming announced two changes along with the eventual winners Newbee also making changes. Out of the teams that participated in this years international only one (as far as I can remember) has not made any changes.

For up to date information I find that r/dota2 reddit is always fun.

For more professional content try

http://www.gosugamers.net/dota2/news
&
http://www.joindota.com/en/start

Medieval II: Total War: Westeros: Age of Petty Kings [Mod]

Long before the rise of Valyria, Westeros was divided into countless Petty Kingdoms.  In the south, the Reach is consumed by fire as countless Andal Kingdoms are drawn into an ever growing civil war.  In Dorne, the deserts run red with blood and in the north four kingdoms struggle for supremacy, even as they face invaders from all sides.  As chaos descends upon the lands of Westeros it remains to be seen which Kingdoms shall forge dynasties to last a thousand years, and which will fade into history.

M2TW has for a long time been one of my favourite games, perhaps it is my interest in the area of Medieval history (as I am studying it at university) but the older total war games have always been well played. Mods continue to breathe life into this game, with the Game of Thrones craze continuing to bear gifts. Petty Kings is based on the time before the Valyrians came to prominence in the lore. I came across this mod while looking around some mod websites and it looked very promising with high ratings for it all round. It's now installed and soon enough I will be happily assembling thousand strong armies of Andal men to go and murder other thousand strong armies of Andal men. The creator Admiral Thrawn is looking to give this mod his full attention, and with everything these days donations are much appreciated.

It's pretty easy to install, you just need a Kingdoms copy of M2TW to get started.

More information can be found from the moddb page:
http://www.moddb.com/mods/westeros-age-of-petty-kings
Also they have had some good publicity from PC Gamer!
http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/08/24/mod-of-the-week-westeros-age-of-petty-kings-for-medieval-ii-total-war-kingdoms/

Arma 3

One of the games which I was not expecting to enjoy so much this year is Arma 3. Recommended by a friend I decided to grab this game in the steam summer sale; a great choice. Although it may seem very serious and perhaps too much of an fps for people to enjoy, gaming communities when left to their own devices are brilliant when it comes to just having a laugh (or trolling [usually both]). This game is no exception. While i personally find single player a struggle as for me it is too much of a military simulator for me to get into, multiplayer is a lot of fun. With mods such as Battle Royale enabling a free for all survival way of playing, to RPG Altis Life (which I play as a server mod meaning a vanilla install for my PC is fine) theres plenty to keep trolls and military geeks alike involved.

Here are some screenshots of my antics:

 Gazing at beautiful marine wildlife we're about to start hunting.

An attractive view of my friend's bottom side, thanks Arma.

Playing the risky game of truck balancing.

Anyway...

That's about it for today, I hope to write up some stuff about these games in the near future. I hope everyone reading this blog so far is enjoying it. Please feel free to +1, share or comment, always looking to improve! 

Archive Review: Skyrim: Bringing the Sky to the Edge of the North

Written in 2011 unedited since.

As you enter the world of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim it suddenly hits you how breathtakingly detailed this game actually is. The amount of love and craft which has entered this game is unmatched; from the Nordic vistas of the cold hearted north land of the Empire, to the level of clarity reading one of the world's many books can bring. Skyrim, in its entirety brings you the atmosphere of a world that should exist.

Gameplay:

First and foremost, the control layout is reasonably simple and easy to
use, any gamer will automatically know how to fight, cast spells, loot,
open the menu and save the game. This helps to bring an effortless feel
when a player decides that now is the time to immerse themselves into the
game. In game, it is easy to forget yourself, as soon as you have finished
the introduction which helps to set the scene and get you on your way your
thrusted (but by no means kicking and screaming) into the fine landscape
which is Skyrim. Players are faced with a myriad of options: shall I go
find an inn and buy a drink? Perhaps I should investigate that ominous
looking structure on that mountain over there? OMG, a rabbit! (after five
minutes of running and wasting arrows I'm completely lost and the rabbit
is gone.) So far, on my journey into Skyrim it is clear that its not just
the big events that make the game, small things like seeing a goat walking
by your side, or having that pesky rabbit elude you deadly aim cause you
to realise how awesome The Elder Scrolls has become.
Fighting, spells, thieving, sneaking, finishing moves and quests have all
been tweaked to create a more streamline, fun and expressive system in
which to play. Being able to dual wield, and mix has created the ability
to really make who you are. If you don't like slow heavy weapons but you
still fancy great hitting power, rock out on dual swords. This removes the
ability to block but overall it makes for a balanced and realistic new
look at weapons the the series. On top of this, you can now wield spells
and use dragon shouts. Improvements to the magic system overall, including
the shouts now actually make mages feel like a real class, rather than
magic just being a tool on top of other weapons. Being able to hold spells
and use shout independently really adds to the ability to be who you want
to be. I myself use single handed sword and a spell in the other, with
fire breath dragon shout. This arsenal allows me to be versatile and
quick, with limited range attack and close hitting power.
Thieving and sneaking have also been slightly tweaked.now, there is a much
clearer system for sneaking, with the target reticule specifically saying
when you are fully hidden and fully discovered, there are still loop holes
to be used, such as the bucket on head exploitation, but even these only
add to the fun and experience within the game.
Finishing moves are a completely new addition to the series, taken from
fallout these exciting mini cut scenes show your character using their
hidden killer skills to being an end the opponent. These are really good
at bringing either relief, pride or distraught quickly. This is because
the way the cut scenes are constructed, they are very different from
fighting. Unfortunately they are very similar to the death camera, and so
going from low health to a finishing move can leave you panicked and
disappointed until you realise your character hasn't been killed by a
wolf, but is in fact gutting it, which is satisfyingly visceral.
The quest system has been revamped, and while in Oblivion everyone was
raving about radiant AI, we are slightly missing the significance of
radiant story. Of course, there are still many fully written and 'static'
quests such as the main story line, but there are now randomly generated,
game built articles. This is where, the game see's your in a town, not
doing a quest and so, it makes a whole new quest for you. Small errands
such as finding a lost ring, or carrying a message to exploration of new
areas, caves and dwellings. Even guild and faction story lines are
extended by the radiant story, with a new contract for the dark
brotherhood or some work with the thieves guild. This maybe small but the
game specifically picks places you haven't been and helps to further the
experience, and goodness forbid it, created an unending game.

Sound:

The sound in Skyrim is amazing, it has one of the best soundtracks I've
ever heard in a game. The way Bethesda have crafted the music to seemingly
fit into every scene you move into is quite astounding. Its almost as if
the music know's your on top of a mountain looking down on the world
below. The voice acting has improved tenfold, rather than just having 6
voice actors, there are 60 and it shows. So far, I don't think two people
have sounded exactly the same which for a game of this size is quite an
achievement. however, some times the acting can sound flawed as if they
are trying to create the accent they are using, or speech can cut across
another speech. Its now flawless but its getting there

Menus:

Todd Howard said how Bethesda tried to make Skyrim's menus more user
friendly, sleek and easy. If there is anything in my opinion which has not
exceeded expectations it it this. They have very much recovered the
simplicity they were looking for, but this has lead to a more stale and
artificial interface. You cannot see your character any more in the
apparel section, and while your appearance does not truly affect you in
session its always nice to see how you look and change with different 
equipment. The new map is lovely. being 3D and detailed doesn't detract
from the fact its a map, its easier to use than oblivion's not to mention
more beautiful. The use of star signs to change your perks and skill trees
is quirky, and it fits with the game well. I feel some of the
constellations could be better, and perhaps referred to more in-game but
aside from this there is no complaints.

Plot/Atmosphere:

What can I say here... The plot is excellent, you can easily follow the main
quest without erring from the path, and this will hardly detract from your 
experience. On the other hand, you have the opportunity, at all times, to 
start something different. There are so many different things to do, it is
plausible that Todd Howard was not exaggerating the unlimited game clause.
This is brilliant, the very epitome of the word. You can play exactly how you want.
Furthermore, the atmosphere inside the game, from the music and how it changes when the dragons about to go down on you, to when your just staring over the vast, dynamic and beautiful landscape of Skyrim. The variety of beasts and the way everything interacts and engages has created, the most deep and intoxicating environment since video games were invented. 

Playability:

Despite the perhaps daunting world and overwhelming array of tasks supplied for you, Skyrim is what every gamers heart is made for. The controls are intuitive and easily adapted to. The complete ability to play how you want is very attractive for all gamers. This, combined with the total amount of enjoyment you can squeeze out of the game makes for a very pliable and yet immersive experience. The glitches bring something for everyone, farmers can use the unlimited xp to do what they do best. Giants smashing people into space is totally hilarious, and watching a mammoth fly is so epic, I don't even know is Chuck Norris could out-epic that. 

Summary:

Skyrim is a very deep and exciting augmentation to real life, you can literally lose yourself within the world. The menus and controls are more sleek, tweaks have been made to magic and stealth to bring them into the fore. The atmosphere is the best ever in a game. You can play it anyway you want to, nothing holds you back, Bethesda have created a game in which only you can decide what to do as the game only stops itself from breaking by being totally awesome. 100% recommended to anyone who has the time to play, because it deserves it. 

Overall rating: 10/10

Archive Review: Dragon Age II, opening the door for the year of epic RPG's

Written in 2011 with some editing in 2014.

What with Mass effect 3, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Hunted: Demons Forge, RAGE and Dead Island all coming out this annum, you could be forgiven for thinking that Dragon Age could be a footnote in this years line-up. Fortunately this is not so...

I picked up the Signature Edition of the game which contained the extras of 'The Black Emporium' and 'The Exiled Prince' enabling the use of these without first day DLC.

Most of the story takes place in and around Kirkwall a port city in the Free marches of Thedas and despite the smaller map size compared to Fereldan in the prequel there is still much variety in the environments. The city is split into two main sections, Lowtown and Hightown the poor and rich areas of the city split into subsequent areas themselves. Outside the city there are three areas, Sundermount, Wounded coast and The Bone Pit; all blissfully unalike and yet believably in surrounds of Kirkwall. When you leave a main area there is an innovative selection screen which allows you to choose between which areas you wish to go to. There are three choices of setting Kikwall Day, Kirkwall night and Outside Kirkwall. This gives freedom and versatility to how players move around the world, also of course keeps this open world with multiple story lines giving freedom of choice.

When the game loaded it was pleasantly surprising to find the Origins-esque loading screens, in my opinion some of the better time eaters in the genre as well as some more original score which sends a tingle up your spine. You start off with a cut scene introducing the game and story, setting the scene for you: The Champion. Good, witty conversations run through the game modernising the series and adding to the realism, also the new speech controls in the style of mass effect help you to define your character more successfully alongside rivalries and friendships. Friendships and rivalries open up more options for your companions 'abilities' which are power-ups or improvements to your fellows skills but other than this they feature little. Graphics are improved from Origins as is, most importantly, the combat which is more flowing and very much console based. The Bioware team wanted 'Something awesome to happen when you press the button.' and having played with all three classes (Rogue, Warrior and Mage) you do notice the increased violence in battles; exploitable by the impressive array of abilities available. 

The weapon systems are very successful; many collectables and quest rewards with random events show the extent of the database every class is well catered for and their specific traits e.g chest opening for rogues give you a valid reason for careful companion choice. Alongside these choices you can pick your companions weapons, perhaps one step down from changing their armour there is more selections for belts, amulets, and rings with their related benefits. As you progress you can upgrade your companions armour but they always make their own decisions about what they wear and these are only show by the number of lit segments underneath the armour slot.

The games flaws are shown mainly in the dungeons and lack of continuity, after you have visited two or three different dungeons you have seen them all, as they are derived from a small template simply mixed together in different coagulations. Continuity suffers due to the arrangement of quests and how they are given to the player in parallel but are [to the game] in series. This leads to strange circumstances in passing comments from civilians or in converses with companions when they will go from one mood to the other  in a flash just because you have started a quest. Furthermore, the game is not as deep as its predecessor, something only coming to me with hindsight. This detracts from the game greatly if you are a hardcore Origins fan, however, standing alone it is still impressive. In the series you would want to play it because of the story, but it would not be your favourite. 

The story has good flow and valid background that also leaves room for a sequel (a very exciting one), controls and graphics are improved and this is now a console game utilising the power of this generation. In many ways this is the sequel many from Origins wanted, taking many good things from it, creating a very fitting and suitably epic game for this RPG year. On the other hand, it also was not the game which lived up to its forerunners legacy. It lacked the depth and breadth of Origins in some areas and is another example of EAs trademark ability to turn a great game (or series) into well presented money makers, at the game details expense.

Overall rating: 7.5/10

Archive Review: Forza 4: Speed is a Passion

Written 2011

We all know how much fun and excitement speed can bring us, whether its a roller coaster or a plane. One of the most exquisite and thrilling experiences of speed has to come from driving fast cars, against other people. Forza 4 goes out to bring you the most distilled racing experience possible in gaming. 

Gameplay:

Forza 4 comes out on top form in this section. Its always been a joy to drive cars in game, to be able to put yourself into a vehicle of unbridled power (which I also cannot hope to touch in the real world) and hear the roaring of that v8 a few inches behind you. While this is not the exact situation in Forza 4 it is the closest the genre has come so far this generation. As you begin the game you can already feel how wide a variety Turn 10 has sought to offer, with over 500 cars from over 80 manufacturers, new game modes like car soccer, and all new tracks to the series such as Hockenheimring this is well and truly diverse.
Racing itself has taken the grand prize from Gran Turismo in my opinion. GT has always been king of simulation, but the pure realism and emotion you can feel from Forza at its best is unparalleled. The Graphics are top quality, the new shading system really adds to the effect of the environments where as they were more stale in FM3. The AI, while not having changed a huge amount is more aggressive, although not overtly so. The Lewis Hamilton style of driving is still yours, but when before CPU's were happy to sit behind you unless you opened a gap wide enough for a dual carriage way, FM4 has them darting around behind you, pressurising your backside more often. However they still need that dual carriage way to get past.
Autovista is a novel introduction, and one which I feel won't be used to its full capabilities. This is because its put there for the real metal heads, fans who, not only spend their life driving cars, but breathing them to. For us normal air respiratory folk, while you might want to do the individual challenges and take a quick look around the beautifully detailed model who sits before you, listening to all the statistics and being bothered to find/use all of the options can turn into a chore. Overall I think this is a great shame as T10 have obviously put a great amount of effort into obtaining these descriptions, but it needs more excitement and distractions which is what attracts casuals to the game in the first place.

Online:

The matchmaking system works well, and while I won't go into the menus now (see below) I want to say FM4 has succeeded in making an easy to use community hub.
Races in Forza online play are spread across different game types. The most common and obvious choice is circuit and quick match. These, as can be garnered from their names, are standard restricted and unrestricted class races, you can pick your car from the side bar and get right into action after the intermission. The experience of racing can be mixed, while its great to be in the lead and a mile ahead of your next competitor many people play unfairly in order to gain themselves. One, unfortunately, common example of this is the nudge, especially on straights, you'll be along side your opponent one second, only to find they give you a whack in the rear or side and your spinning away. While this can be frustrating and happens to most people, by no means is this any fault of the game itself or the general Forza community, many people are respectful and you even find those who do hit you, slowing down to let you past them post-collision.
Car soccer is one example of an innovative idea that has worked completely for FM4. There is no reason forcing you to carry out one of this absurd games, but everyone knows you want to. You are rewarded with 4 on 4  carnage, with Hummers, corvettes and all sorts scrambling to attack an unpredictable ball. Its great fun, and can even be satisfying if you lose.
Furthermore, another great addition to Forza is Car clubs. You can easily create your own and join a friend's where you can work together to get club points across all multiplayer options. I particularly like the idea of the club garage, where you can share one of your favourite cars, and easily create a club paint design, it really helps to bring rivalry to the game which was lacking previously.
Not everything about the online is good though, many things are unclear and slightly difficult to work out, you can be nastily caught out by the waiting times in lobbies which can jump around, or unless your paying attention waste your time in a lobby while another race is going on. The rivals racing is fun but its difficult to ascertain where you stand or how to get to them, and when your in a hurry the loading times seem unnecessarily long.

Menus and Customisation:

The customisation of your cars has always been one of my favourite parts of the racing genre, and on the creative side painting and decals have always been Forza's strong point. In Forza 4 they continue with the evolution of this, making slightly easier controls for copying and pasting and additions to the amount of decals you can use.
Upgrades to your car can be added easily using the upgrade shop, and make a noticeable difference to the cars handling . While I find that the amount of upgrades can be lacking, the amount of wheels and settings for tuning is amazingly vast and I'd happily spend hours in there if I knew how to tune like a pro.
Contrarily one of my real bug bears for Forza is the menu. In my opinion this is overly categorised and takes too long to load games, overall in a game which is all about speed it is massively let down by the inefficient structure between races. While improvements have been made to the world tour such as the map I find this to be repetitive and even annoyingly unprofessional. I would not be focusing so much on the menus if they weren't, in my opinion, single handedly preventing me from playing a genuinely enjoyable game. The loading times can take an age and the lack of instant transmissions which is expected from most games now is increasingly obvious as you crave the adrenal feeling of racing.

In total, FM4 is a very up to date, varied, beautiful and exciting version of a series which has always been praised for its contribution to the genre. There have been many improvements to key areas and tweaks in almost every department. However the game is let down by its lack of a streamlined engine off the track and conversely to the great cars in game, the mainframe has the aerodynamics of a box. This game is recommended to anyone who has a passion for speed, loves cars, has enjoyed the assets of previous racing games or fancies some harmless yet intoxicating competition.

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Welcome to My Gaming Blog.

Hi there, strange internet traveller.

You have found yourself to the first post of my blog. This blog is being set up with the intention of becoming somewhere for me to express my opinions, share my experiences and critique not only myself but games. Let me introduce myself and what this blog is about currently and hopefully going to be about.

A little bit about me: I have been gaming heavily for over 10 years now, and I plan to carry on with that forever more. Currently studying Ancient and Medieval history at university, it has always been my dream to somehow stay connected to games throughout my life. Recently, especially with the rise of such things as esports, the option of moving into gaming journalism has become very attractive to me. As such, being a teenager on the brink of leaving that label behind, I feel it is time to start bringing my thoughts and talents (maybe wishful thinking) into a cohesive centre. Oh by the way my name is Richard and I'm from the UK.

I hope that in the future I can look back on this and think that this is what helped me to kick start my career into the unknown world of gaming journalism. I must admit, at this time I am quite a novice. While having written a few reviews and had positive feedback from them, I know that there is a lot of experience still to be gathered and many many skills to learn if not perfect. I wish to bring anyone who wants to gaze into the depths of my blog a (small) portfolio of gaming, which can not only enlighten them as to my opinions on certain things, but also showcase the love I have for the area. I do not play the greatest breadth of games, I am susceptible to bias and I play Dota 2 over League of Legends (I wonder how relevant this will be when [if] I become successful).

At the moment, I plan to write some blog posts on things I love and enjoy, writing at a casual pace and hopefully entertaining a few passers by. I will post some of my old reviews (apologies for anything thats untidy, they are being copied in from a website using different formatting) to bulk up the amount of posts I start with and from then on I suppose the sky's the limit. So here goes...

Welcome to my gaming blog.