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The OverAchiever: Do them now!
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, it's time to get a move on. We've had some recent news concerning achievements in categories we've already covered, and my original intent this week was to play catch-up with that in addition to finishing off the new reputation, world event, and feat of strength achievements in Cataclysm. However, given equally recent news concerning achievements that are set to become feats (and may do so as early as patch 4.0.1), I thought it would be more sensible to cover the stuff that you'd want to do as soon as possible before it disappears. I've cross-checked the list of known Cataclysm feats of strength against the feats already present in game, and as far as I know, this should be a comprehensive set of current Wrath of the Lich King achievements that will become inaccessible as of patch 4.0.1, patch 4.0.3, or Cataclysm's release (or at least, a comprehensive list as of the current beta and PTR builds). I've written this list assuming the following: Although it hasn't been officially confirmed that all of these will disappear in patch 4.0.1 or 4.0.3 rather than the expansion itself, for the time being, I'm guessing it's one of the two patches you need to worry about. With the recent announcement of arena Season 8 ending on Oct. 12, 4.0.1 may hit in less than two weeks. Zarhym's post just made it clear that the season could end as early as the 12th, not that it definitely would, and there's still a lot of stuff to fix on the PTR and beta -- but every Tuesday from hereon is a potential patch day. Accepting Oct. 5 or 12 as possible patch dates, I've included an opinion on the feasibility of getting the following achievements done as quickly as possible.
TUAW's Daily App: Deadliest Catch
Brand-based games can be hit or miss -- at worst, they're a crass attempt to cash in on a name, and even at best, they often rely far too much on the license, leaving fun and design out of the equation. But the official Deadliest Catch game for the iPhone actually impressed me. As just a game on its own, it lacks -- it's really just a series of minigames designed to simulate crabbing, which itself isn't that fun to begin with. But if you happen to be a fan of the Discovery Channel show (and I am), trying to guide your boat through stormy weather or hook the crab pots safely is actually a good time. The app has a quickplay mode, where you can just jump into the minigames if you want (steering the boat, hooking crab pots, rescuing a man overboard, or sorting crabs on the table), but the real pleasure is the campaign mode, where you can actually build a boat and crew out of the cast of Deadliest Catch, and then make your own way out into the Bering Sea to try and catch Alaskan crab. Mixing up the minigames is a lot of fun -- just like the real sailors, you lay down pots, check them as they come up, and hope that you hit the crab motherload. The app faithfully recreates the show's feel of going out on the deadly ocean and searching the depths for that big pile of crab that means you'll come home with some cash. The only drawback is that at US$3.99, the app is expensive, especially for a licensed title. Not that $4 is expensive for a quality game (if you like the show, it's worth picking up), but for something that could itself serve as an ad for Discovery Channel, that price is a little steep for the potential audience. The good news is that there are no ads in the app itself (except for some links to both Discovery content and developer Hands-On Mobile in the menu), and it runs surprisingly smoothly, even on my old 1G iPhone. If you follow the Cornelia Marie and the Northwestern like I do, grab it right now and go crabbin'! Everybody else can wait for the eventual price drop.
The OverAchiever: More Accomplished Angler
This week we'll finish our look at the Accomplished Angler meta-achievement. As with all matters concerning WoW fishing, El's Anglin is your best friend here, and more particularly their page on fishing-related achievements (which also addresses a few we don't cover here, as they're not part of the Accomplished Angler meta). Continuing from our previous article on the first set of Accomplished Angler achievements: The Old Gnome and the Sea Apparently someone at Blizzard is a Hemingway enthusiast. At any rate, this achievement's easy as pie, and you'll get it after fishing successfully from any pool of fish in the game (although it does have to be fish -- it can't be the wreckage pools you need for The Scavenger). You can get this doing either of the following achievements --
Rumor: Warner Bros. hooked on Midway bait
Just a week after casting itself into uncertain waters, Midway has reportedly gotten a bite -- er, been bitten by Warner Bros. Interactive. Now comes the hard part: reeling in the deal. After losing Eidos to Square Enix, Warner's got a grumbling in its tummy for cheap chow, and for a proposed $30 million, Midway is a relatively inexpensive meal for the big fish to swallow. Still, much of Midway is simply indigestible. An anonymous source tells MCV, "Warner is pretty confident that they will get Midway ... They look ready to put the money on the table." Whether that money is the full $30 million or just a portion of the asking price (for specific IPs like Mortal Kombat, etc.) is allegedly keeping the deal on the line. Will it snap? Oh, the suspense!
Deadliest Catch giving away free MS points ... don't get too excited
Microsoft is partnering on some Discovery Channel ad buy to promote Deadliest Catch -- it's a show about crab fisherman and a badly reviewed game -- but the only things worth caring about are the free MS points being given away. The campaign will have "a number of click-to-video executions across the Xbox LIVE platform with a call-to-action Deadliest Catch Text to Win Sweepstakes. The sweepstakes provides viewers with a specific mobile SMS code to text for a chance to win Microsoft Points."Microsoft and Discovery will give away a whopping 2 million MS Points to 5,000 winners during the promo ... hey, wait a minute. Let's do the mathematicals on that: 2,000,000 MS points / 5,000 people = 400 MS points. So, they're giving out $5 XBLM redemption codes? Oh well, guess it's $5 those 5,000 folks didn't have before. Full details about the promotion can be found here.
Insider Trader: Crafting achievements pre-Wrath
Times are changing. Where previously you could merely craft epic swords and new-fangled flying machines, you can now craft success. Achievement points, the latest addictive means of displaying your awesomeness, are all the rage, and can be crafted up in a jiffy. Well, maybe two jiffies.As a level 70, there is one achievement you almost certainly have, and that is "Professional Master." This is awarded once you train the highest rank of any given profession, and serves as a little pat on the back for a job well done. Ready to go further? Get ready to maximize your fishing, cooking and first aid skills!
See gameplay video from Deadliest Catch
We're not exactly sure what we were expecting from the new 360 game based on the Discovery Channel's crabbing adventure Deadliest Catch (giant enemy crabs, perhaps?), but it certainly wasn't what we see in this recently released gameplay video: A surprising amount of detail and realism ... and a constant stream of Bon Jovi.Be sure to check out the video below the jump wherein the boat's captain preemptively berates you before you go to pick up a fellow crabber from a grocery run. See what we're saying? It's all in the details.
Video: Experience the excitement of crabbing
Seeing that lately everyone has been backlogged with great game playing we're sure the Xbox 360 exclusive Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm has gone a bit under the radar. It released a few weeks back and we'll admit, we haven't paid much attention to it. But that's where gameplay trailers come in and the latest Alaskan Storm "Crabbing Gameplay" trailer fulfills all our crab fishing curiosities. You owe it to yourself to watch how intense, how enthralling and how truly marveling the gameplay is between the 0:30 through 1:10 mark. Damn seagulls, stay away from our boat!
Shipping this week: random edition
This week's lineup of new Xbox 360 games just might be the most random in the console's history. Given the caliber of the competition's major release this week, it seems doubly so. Seriously, look at the lineup of games we have this week: Nascar 09 Don King Presents Prize Fighter Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm We have stock car racing, boxing with large-haired flair, anime fighting, and a game about dangerous fishing. We ask you, dearest fanboys and girls, which of these games is the highlight this week? Ponder that for a while and see if you can't help us figure it out. We'll be playing Ninja Gaiden II.Note: Deadliest Catch should be coming out for real this time. It seems it was listed by mistake last month.[Via Joystiq]
Shipping this week: deadly fishing edition
With the giant, lumbering shadow of Grand Theft Auto IV slowly receding, publishers are responding in kind, slowly releasing new titles. Testing the water, if you will. It seems appropriate, then, that this week's biggest Xbox 360 release is Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm, a game about (deadly) fishing. There is also one other title to look out for, that being Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. We're trying really hard to drum up some enthusiasm for that one. Actually, who are we kidding? We're not trying at all.%Gallery-17050%
Deadliest Catch returns this April in HD on Discovery Channel
While the vast majority of reality TV refuses to make the expected leap to high-definition, the producers of the Deadliest Catch aren't letting a few camera hazards scare them off. As predicted, Discovery Channel's hit series is splashing back this April for a fourth season, and yes, it will be broadcast in HD. According to the release, this year will see quite a few "injuries dominate the crab-fishing season," and there will also be exclusive content available via the web and Discovery's mobile portal. The action starts once more on April 15th at 9:00PM ET / PT, but viewers can get brought back up to speed by catching a two-hour "Best of Season Three" recap on April 8th at 9:00PM ET / PT.
Huh? Video of the Day: Deadliest Catch Moonboots
Some things are just too odd to not pass along as today we were sent a new commercial for everyone's favorite crab fishing game Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm. And ... well, we aren't sure what to make of it. The video shows two of the show's younger "stars" talking about the game and how cool they are, but something is off. It's almost as if the commercial is supposed to appeal to gamers in a "oh, they're our age and are hip like us, cool!" kind of way, but it's just too darn awkward. Maybe awkward isn't a valid description. Corny? Yeah, corny works. Give the video a watch, prepare for awkward confusion and walk run to your local video game store to slap down a Deadliest Catch pre-order. Also, we feel obligated to tell our younger readers to stay away from tobacco and to refrain from ever using the word "moonboots" to dis someone's mother.
Catch crabs in upcoming Deadliest Catch game
We really were a bit un-enthusiastic about bringing you news that Discovery Channel's fishing documentary Deadliest Catch was spawning a video game. But then we thought of a witty "catching crabs" blog title and that gave us enough of a boost to finish our blogging duties. Anyway, Deadliest Catch Alaskan Storm will feature crab fishing on the deadly Alaskan waters where you'll command some rickety old crab boat to make a year's worth of income in a few weeks. Now that's the life we hope to live. And if that description doesn't get you enthused, we advise watching the video above where Captain Sig Hansen introduces the game and tells us what inspired him to search for someone to code such a piece of work. Or you could always come up with your disgusting crab jokes. It worked for us.%Gallery-17050%[Via Joystiq]
Deadliest Catch game in the works
One of our favorite marketing conceits is "average guy makes game," and it's out in full force for this announcement trailer of a video game adaption of TV's #1 crab fishing docu-drama, Deadliest Catch, coming to Xbox 360 and PC. In the extremely media-light trailer, Captain Sig Hansen says he was inspired to "find a team to create a video game based on our crab fishing experiences."We'd love to live in a world where burly crab fishermen take breaks from risking life and limb to give us commoners, bodies enflabbened by the succulent harvest Hansen and crew procure, a taste of what being a real man is actually like. Alas, we'd be more likely to believe "Hey, would you crab fishermen like some free money?"Side note: Does this sound like the sort of game you'd want to play?%Gallery-16980%
