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WoW Moviewatch: How to win at Brewfest
Wait, it's October already? How did that happen? Well, if we're busting out the Brewfest and the dirndl, then there's no better time to replay Wowcrendor's ale-soaked hit, How to win at Brewfest. Billy might not have been prepared for Brewfest, but I'm sure the rest of us are plenty eager for it. It's funny how well Crendor's explanation of Brewfest still applies today. Oh, Billy. We miss you. Come back to us, Billy! Make sure you watch all the way through the video. The "No Guy" makes a brief appearance. We miss him, too. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: The Billy Story
One man has been a constant throughout Wowcrendor's career: Billy. Legend says that when Chuck Norris wandered the open plains of The Barrens, a single hair fell from his beard. That hair lands in the exact spot that Deathwing would (one day) pass through before the Cataclysm. Billy sprang up fully formed. OK, that's a lie. But plenty of people have clamored for the origin story of Wowcrendor's masked avenger. Not since the Zorro has one character held so much allure. Without further ado, we present: The Billy Story. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
The Tattered Notebook: What to look forward to in GU63
So there I was, watching the server status on the EverQuest II official site on my mobile phone and seeing server after server start to go back online. Game Update 63 officially launched this week, and with it came the much-awaited return of the Skyshrine dragons. But this week happens to be spring vacation week, so as much as I was hoping to see things firsthand, I was out of town and offline as I enjoyed some surprisingly pleasant weather on the beach in New England and in downtown New York City. Although I missed launch, I got a feel for some of the new content while it was on Test, plus I had a sneak peek with the recent EQII tour, so this week I'm going to digest what I saw, pretend that launch hasn't happened yet, and highlight a few things that I'm looking forward to seeing with the patch. If you're already dipping your toes into the content, think of me, face pressed against the glass as I watch helplessly, and see whether there's anything on my list that might be something you hope to see as well (but hopefully not long before I do!).
Growing Up Geek: Billy Steele
Welcome to Growing Up Geek, an ongoing feature where we take a look back at our youth and tell stories of growing up to be the nerds that we are. Today, we have our very own Contributing Editor, Billy Steele. See that dapper young fellow right there? You'd never think someone dressed that goofily as a kid would grow up to be a tech blogger, now would you? It's true -- and I never thought so either -- but, as I would come to find out, my unorthodox childhood would help shape my nerd sensibilities in more ways than one. It all starts with the fact that I was raised by my grandparents, which was awesome, but usually meant that I was at least a year behind on all the popular gadgetry. This also meant that I was forced to hold on to things a bit longer, so while my friends were sportin' the N64, I was still rockin' Contra on the NES (no shame). Let me take a step back for a moment. My first exposure to technology of any substance was a high-mileage Atari at my mom's place. She had an entire library of games, but the only two that I cared about were Frogger and Grand Prix. A couple of years later, when I obtained that coveted O.G. Nintendo, I survived on a constant diet of Excitebike, Bases Loaded and Tecmo Super Bowl. After playing until I couldn't see straight -- on several occasions as an elementary lad -- I was able to string together a handful of undefeated seasons with America's team the Dallas Cowboys. I've now taken on the plight of a Panthers' fan, but I digress.
WoW Moviewatch: How to Win at Auction Houses
Wowcrendor's video about auction houses is called, unsurprisingly, How to Win at Auction Houses. This is the day Billy learned that you either get busy living or you get busy gold farming. I don't know what that means, but it was said by Worgen Freeman, so it must be true. It's always nice to see Billy return to Wowcrendor's videos. I was especially struck by the meta-humor when Billy criticized Wowcrendor's attempt to close the video with an ending the creator had already used elsewhere. Wowcrendor's videos have become surprisingly rich with well-known characters and tropes. It's taken Wowcrendor a while to build up this cast of characters, but that effort seems to be paying off for him. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at machinima@wow.com.
The Tattered Notebook: Six years of EverQuest II
I looked down at the dog-eared journal and shivered. As excited as I was to finally be in possession of The Tattered Notebook, I recalled the fates of its previous owners. First, seemingly out of madness, Seccia made a sudden and unexpected career change to blog about kittens. Now, Scarve, a Ratonga, has disappeared in the night, leaving behind only a wedge of cheese, this tattered notebook, and a tiny stuffed Kerran doll. Rumors spread of his appearance among a shadowy cult of Gnomish tinkerers, but it's unclear whether he's with them by choice or by force. Regardless, I took a deep breath and opened the cover. What a perfect time to begin adding my entries to the journal, right at the celebration of EverQuest II's six-year anniversary! To celebrate, the game is holding its second annual Festival of Heroes, from November 19-30. In honor of this milestone, my first entry into The Tattered Notebook is a retrospective of those past six years, with an eye towards the future.
EQ2 4-year veteran rewards revealed
If you're oldschool EverQuest II, and and by that I mean your account is oldschool, then some new rewards are coming your way. We learn from the EverQuest II Players site that four new veteran rewards will be available for those who created their accounts back in EQ2's earliest days.Two of the rewards are standard fare, similar to past years, potions that increase the experience gained for either tradeskilling or adventuring, Draft of the Wise and Draft of the Skilled. You will receive a total of three of each of these. Slightly more exciting is the Treasure Hoard. Placing this pile of loot in your house will result in a 25% discount on your coin rent, which will prove handy for those currently paying an arm and a leg every week.However, the last reward is probably the coolest of them all. Anyone who has visited Nektropos Castle (and if your account is old enough to be eligible for this reward, then you have) will recall the little dolls found there, in particular the one named Billy. Well, now you can transform into a Mystic Moppet Billy yourself. Apart from changing form, your size will also be reduced by 40%. Nothing screams "I'm a veteran!" like running around as a tiny moppet.These tangible rewards are accompanied by a new title to show off -- you will be able to stick "The Zealous" on the end of your name just to make sure that no one mistakes you for a newbie. Not a bad haul when all is said and done. Even the experience potions will come in quite handy with the upcoming Rise of Kunark release.
Billy the Wizard and others spotted on ESRB
Good news! You can sell that imported European Wii you bought! Conspiracy Entertainment is bringing Data Design's lineup of European budget Wii games to the US, according to the ESRB listings. These are budget Wii ports of Metro3D's budget PS2 games. Let us say it again: budget.So far, four Conspiracy games have been rated for US release: Billy the Wizard (original name: Barry Hatter), Anubis II, Mythmakers: Super Kart GP, and Counter Force. No word on Ninjabread Man yet, and we don't know when any of these will be released. In any case, we recommend preordering now so you won't be stuck in line at 5AM on release day.[Via GoNintendo]
Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy coming to Wii
Who would have thought that we would wake up to an image of the Grim's face from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy? Certainly not us. It was rather disturbing to our non-coffee eyes. On second thought, we are always happy to see more news about the Wii and games gracing the system with their presence. Midway had this to say: "The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy for the Nintendo Wii is expected to utilize features that are unique to the Wii system. This includes use of the split controls, motion sensing and more. The Wii version is intended to support both the GameCube and Wii controllers. The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy on the Nintendo Wii is also expected to include content–specific gameplay features that will be available only on the Wii platform. More details on these features will be released at a later date." While we haven't really seen a whole lot of games stem from cartoons do really well in this industry, we know that the Wii offers a fair chance to every game to fully utilize its unique controls. Go Nintendo also has some screens for you to check out.
