WRUP: Casualness and modes thereof edition
I like Fire Emblem Awakening, but I'd really like to know what bright spark on the localization team decided to call the mode where your characters aren't constantly dying forever "casual mode." Guys, I like your games. I even like the idea that actions have consequences and throwing away three units on your flank to protect your charge might mean they don't get to have dinner tonight. But not wanting to reset the same battle dozens of times because a random generic enemy gets one of the series' trademark instant-kill critical hits out of the blue doesn't mean I'm playing casually, it means that I am a human being whose time on this planet is preciously short.
Really, your game is plenty hard even without making every failure an ongoing cascade for the rest of the game. Give it a rest.
Not entirely coincidentally, it's time for this week's installment of WRUP, in which the Massively staff members discuss what we'll be playing over the weekend. Check out our plans past the break, and let us know what you'll be up to down in the comments!
@Beau_Hindman: I'm definitely jumping into RuneScape for a while and need to catch up my certs in PlanetSide 2. Other than that, I'm going to be trying out all of the older mobile MMOs on the new Nexus 7 so I can write up an article on it. Does a better screen mean a better experience? Probably.
@nbrianna: I've been keeping my brain occupied with some Skyrim modding, so might be I'll actually log into the "game" part of Skyrim this weekend. But probably not. It's an addiction, man. I'm also going to boot up Cube World again -- anyone recommend some good seeds for a noob?
@PsykopigAU: I'm all geared up and ready to go for some sweet Guild Wars 2 action this week, since I feel like I missed so much playtime going to PAX Australia.
Probably gonna throw in some of the sweet board games I found over the weekend as well!
@Eliot_Lefebvre: I'm a bit short on MMOs to play right now, and while I feel like I ought to be earning some Gree reputation in Star Wars: The Old Republic I'm not really feeling it. So it's down to roleplaying there and working my way through my Steam backlog. I've polished off Remember Me and I'm starting to work my way through Tomb Raider.
@irljasmine: This weekend will be consumed by RIFT leveling with a side of World of Warcraft leveling. I'm a sneeze (and a few DPS queues) from 90 in WoW and, if my calculations are correct, at level 54 I'm about eight kajillion hours from 60 in RIFT.
@jefreahard: Like a lot of folks I took out a second mortgage during the recent Steam sale, and I think I'm coming up on the end of The Last of Us since I've pretty much killed everyone who survived the plague or whatever it was. MMO-wise I'm a little burnt out, so I'll probably continue with Grid 2 and GT Legends while scrounging for news on ArcheAge and Star Citizen.
@Sypster: I've recently returned to Fallen Earth and, like the shampoo commercial says, I'm loving it. Sometimes you just need to blow mutant hermit crabs away with a shotgun, you know? I am also looking to wrap up my adventures in Wildermore for Lord of the Rings Online, although I lost my quest chain and am not entirely sure where to pick it back up.
@mvmatt: I'm a bit MMO'd out myself, so I think this weekend I'm going to be following in Jef's footsteps and having some me-time with Shadowrun Returns. But if I get the MMO itch, and I probably will, I may end up messing around in Asheron's Call 2 for a little blast from the past.
@MikedotFoster: This weekend I'll be getting crushed in Dota 2. Might play a little World of Warcraft with my sister, but she's pretty into Animal Crossing: New Leaf right now so I could just be on my own. Also: So. Many. Steam. Games.
@RichieProcopio: I just got back from a short vacation and so this weekend I'll be catching up on the Cutthroat Politics patch for Guild Wars 2. I also hope to sneak in some Cube World shenanigans and perhaps even crack open Bioshock Infinite, which I've been wanting to play for several months now.
@Epykbeard: I'm back in Lord of the Rings Online, thanks to the reader vote on Choose my Adventure. I'm really excited to get my new character created and going in a game I haven't played in a long time. Plus, this is timely because my house was about to be foreclosed. Take that, Hobbit Housing Authority!
@terilynns: I'll be playing Star Trek Online. I still haven't finished tier 5 of my Romulan reputation and I really just need to earn a few more marks to get that done. That is, if the power and my internet stay on, monsoon has been a little rough these past few weeks. If time and the elements allow, I'll jump into Lord of the Rings Online to do some fishing and work my Elf Hunter though Nud-melek.
At the start of every weekend, we catch up with the Massively staff members and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" (Otherwise known as: WRUP!) Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game -- and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!
