easymode
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'Super Mario Run' now has an easy mode
Super Mario Run isn't exactly a difficult game, though it may take some real work to master it and get every special coin scattered through every level. Which makes the new feature Nintendo added to it a little odd: The game now features an "easy mode." With easy mode turned on, you'll get unlimited lives. When you die in Super Mario Run, you reappear in a bubble and float back in the level a bit before you regain control. In normal mode, you can only die a few times, but easy mode means you'll never have to worry about running out of bubbles.
Enter at Your Own Rift: Macro this!
You know that saying about never discussing religion or politics around the dinner table? I'd like to add one more to the list: RIFT macros. Some players love them, and some players hate them, to the point that the topic completely turns them off from the game. Each camp has some very valid arguments, and there doesn't seem to be too much of a middle ground on the subject. In this week's Enter at Your Own Rift, I'd like to take a look at that polarizing issue and explain why I grew to love macros.
The Daily Grind: Have you ever facerolled MMO content?
I've recently returned to World of Warcraft and was surprised to find a much more complex game than when I left (contrary to popular lore in our comments). Several of the classes have been revamped mechanically to be far more interesting and layered, and new dungeon encounters are frequently among the best in the industry. At endgame, anyway. I realize that outside of heroics and raids and PvP, WoW (like many MMOs) aims for accessible simplicity, which is nice when you're just happily grinding away or teaming up with weekend warriors not looking for a stressful challenge. One of my mates even bragged about facerolling his way through the dungeon finder, and I had to wonder, do people really do that? Even if content is easy, I still try to play it "right." I'll still make sure I know how to play my character, probably because I'm terrified of being that person in a PUG -- you know, the one who makes people hate PUGs. But I have to admit that the idea of honestly just punching whatever buttons just to see if we'll still win has its own amusing charm (and a strange level of challenge too). Have you ever facerolled MMO content, literally or figuratively? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: Should MMOs offer respecs?
MMOs last for so long that you're almost guaranteed to get bored or make a mistake at some point during character development. Most games know this and allow you a do-over, be it through unlearning skills in sandboxes like Glitch and Ultima Online or respecing talent point choices in World of Warcraft. Lest your choices be trivialized, certain games insist on making respecs prohibitively expensive; City of Heroes and Champions Online even charge real money for respecs should you deplete your in-game allotment. But other MMOs simply provide no outlet for a do-over at all, like Star Wars: The Old Republic, which currently locks you into your advanced class choice at level 10, long before you're really capable of making that kind of decision. While the devs are still debating respecs as a post-launch addition, a surprising number of players are vehemently opposed to the entire concept on the grounds that it makes character choices irrelevant. What say you -- should all games have respecs, or are do-overs just another form of "easymode"? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: Do you think MMOs should be harder?
For every person I see cheering the rise of accessible games, I see another lamenting the "dumbing down" of MMOs. And while I've always liked a good challenge, it seems to me that "challenge" is usually conflated with "tedium" -- most MMO "challenges" test my patience, not my skill. I can understand not wanting a game to be a faceroll, but I'm also glad that we don't have to be professional e-sport champs to participate in this hobby. Still, there's plenty of room between those two extremes for upping the difficulty of combat and crafting without resurrecting obnoxious mechanics like corpse runs and experience loss. What do you think -- should MMOs be harder? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
ASUS Eee Top launched, loved by product waifs and the children who raise them
Our brothers in gadgetry over at Engadget Chinese are at ASUS' Eee Top unveiling in Taipei. They've already been hands-on with the 15.6-inch all-in-one touchscreen PC and consider the build quality to be "ok," consistent with the traditional (read: non-S101) Eee PC netbooks. And while it includes an "Easy Mode" UI that runs on top of XP, launch anything other than an ASUS-built application and you're right back into XP's less finger-friendly interface. That's where the included stylus (hidden in the keyboard) comes into play. We also have a price: 18,900 Taiwanese dollars which is a tax inclusive price of about $580 in the US. It's available today in ASUS' home of Taiwan -- everyone else will have to wait for their local announcements. 'Till then, pics, plenty of pics. Update: Today's announcement is only for model ET1602. The ET1603 with better graphics and battery (whose existence is in dispute based on contradictory press reports and product specs) is still not available.Update 2: Added ASUS promotional video after the break -- only thing it's missing is Bruce Lee. [Thanks, Sascha]%Gallery-37474% Read -- Hands-onRead -- Announcement with more pictures
A polemic against powerleveling
Oh boy, rant time again. This one is for cloud_9 who spent a whole VC run with a friend sitting around because a higher level toon came along with them.I hate it when that happens. I hate it when I join up with a group and someone says something like "hay gusy, my 60 friend will take us thru." I quit the group right about that point. I do love playing this game-- I like the strategy of different classes, and I like using the abilities the classes have at different levels to take on dungeons as a team. That's exactly why I hate being run through a dungeon with someone higher than me.At least a few of you probably think I'm crazy by this point. "It's so much easier for finishing quests," I hear you saying. "Why would you refuse help?" That's exactly why-- because it's easier. I like the challenge of playing the game without help. Even wiping until my gear goes red is much more exciting to me than sitting around and watching a higher level character play for me. Yes, even Uldaman and even Gnomer. Are those places annoying after five failed runs? Yes. But even then, I'd rather go with a good yet low group than tag along with a 60.Flame away if you want. Laugh at me for making things harder for myself if you must. But don't be surprised when, on my lowbie alt, I politely refuse your offer to powerlevel. I pay for this game to discover things for myself, not to watch someone else play.
