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Cocoto Fishing Master announced for WiiWare
It's a WiiWare smorgasbord today! Only, this is closer to the part when you can't stop yourself from puking because you ate too much.That's not to say Cocoto Fishing Master will be bad, though. In fact, for what it is (a Cocoto game), it looks kind of neat. The premise is pretty simple -- you catch fish and sell them. There's also a story mode that involves collecting fragments of an idol, but we're not sure how that works. Since it's a Cocoto title, it will involve minigames as well; yet, fortunately, those seem to be restricted to multiplayer mode.Check after the break to see a few more screens of this fishing game.
Tips for the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza
I can't say that I've ever seriously tried to do the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza -- I've seen it happen a few times, and I love the idea, but I've never committed to fishing long enough to be competitive in it. But I'm reconsidering that after reading these extremely fun tips from Resto4Life. Some of them are Druid specific (I bet the Shaman waterwalking spell would come in handy when trying to cross over to islands and through streams), and some of them are just silly, but it's just the right kind of thing to get you in the mindset to do a little Sunday angling. The two sources Resto pulled from have more: Tree of Life has a few helpful tips, while The Game Dame goes in-depth in laying out exactly how to win the event.And it's a good thing we've got these, too -- as of patch 2.4, as the anglers among you have already heard, there'll be a few new fishing daily quests, and some brand new rewards (the fishing hat is now blue) from both the quests and the Extravaganza.I still don't know if I have the interest to sit there, rod in hand, waiting for a fish to bite, but there's no doubt that this is a fun little, often missed part of the game. Very nice to have something fun like this going on weekly on the servers.
WoW, Casually: Patch 2.4 preview
Each week, Robin Torres writes WoW, Casually for the player who has 2 hours or less to play at a time. Well, it used to be weekly and it will be again, starting today.When last I wrote, which was ages ago, I promised to answer some reader mail about getting groups quickly. And then I vanished for a bit. I'm sorry about the interruption in this column and I will get to the reader mail, but not this week. With the new patch getting closer to release, I think I need to talk about some of the changes that will affect those of us with limited playtime.First of all, our coverage of Patch 2.4 is very extensive and perhaps a bit overwhelming. I do recommend, however, spending some free time that you have access to WoW Insider catching up with the changes for your class, professions and playstyle. You don't want to spend your precious WoW session discovering unexpected changes after the new patch comes out.
Breakfast Topic: Your favorite playing partner
I love my wife. I don't think I can say it enough. I was able to convince her to play World of Warcraft with me when the game first came out and luckily for me, she got hooked. We've been playing partners ever since, from her getting lost in the Orc and Troll starting area to exploring Sunstrider Isle together for the first time. Sometimes, she humors me by playing a few Battlegrounds with me or even helps me complete my Arena games when my teammates -- who have more or less quit the game -- fail to log on for the week. Sure, I have to twist her arm to do it, but she enjoys ribbing me after matches: "I thought you were good? How come I beat your DPS and got all the Killing Blows?" Sometimes, I help her farm or watch her back while she fishes up another Mr. Pinchy. Even when we're not together -- like when she immerses herself at the Auction House while I PvP -- we chat in-game and IRL. I can't be thankful enough for actually being married to my favorite playing partner since others just aren't as lucky. Some of our bloggers, like Lisa Poisso, plays with her entire family! Just how cool is it to play with your better half and two kids? Amanda Dean has spent the last week showing her mom around Azeroth. How about you? Do you have a favorite playing partner? Whether it's your significant other, a roommate, a brother or cousin, or maybe even someone you met in-game, is there someone you enjoy playing the game with more than other people? Maybe there is one person you spend more time with than anyone else in Azeroth (or the Outlands, as the case may be). Why? What makes the experience unique or special? The coolest thing about an MMO is that you play with other people. And sometimes, there are just some people we like playing with more than others.
WoWDailies.com might have your daily quests for you
This is an interesting idea, though I'm not quite sure it will work: An enterprising guild (that Kimberly from LJ is in) has put together a site called WoWDailies.com, which is basically a list of what daily quests are available on which realms for any given day. As an idea, it's a good one -- pull up the site, and you can see what daily quests are available (BG, fishing, cooking, and instances) on your realm that day.In practice, however, it's easier said than done. The site relies not on info from Blizzard's servers, but from visitors to the site -- just click a realm name and you can input what quests are available. But anyone can do that, and there's no accounting for whether the quests are real or not (I accidentally entered some probably false information). I think the quests do reset every day, so at least if someone enters the wrong quest it only stays up for less than 24 hours, but still, you have to trust that what's up there is right.In fact, I'm surprised Blizzard hasn't created something like this to check every day -- they've got a calendar of BG weekends, so it's natural that they'd somehow let us check what quests were available out of game, and maybe even be able to plan instance runs ahead of time. At any rate, until then, WoWDailies will have to do. If you're lucky enough to have someone updating your realm correctly and on time, it should be a good resource.
Two Ring to rule them all
Two Ring to rule them all, Two Ring to find them,Two Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. Forget The 1 Ring folks, Massively lead and WoW Insider blogger Krystalle Voecks came across The 2 Ring today via a Live Journal entry. For many years World of Warcraft players all around Azeroth have been on the look out for this seemingly missing piece of loot, and in patch 2.4 they will be rewarded via the daily fishing quest.The ring features +22 to the primary five stats, making it (wait... let me make sure my math is right here...) 22 times better than The 1 Ring.I'm not sure of it's use initially. It's a well rounded stats ring, so perhaps a druid or other hybrid class might be interested in it if they find themselves changing roles often enough. However for a single role / gear set, there are a plethora of better choices easily obtainable.Of course, with that said, it makes a helluva nice ring to start off at 70 with.
Japanese mobile game rewards players with real fish
It used to be that just getting a high score was the be all and end all of game accomplishments. More recently, amassing Achievement points became the all-consuming passion of gamers. Now even that seems passé as a new Japanese cell phone game rewards played with real, raw fish delivered right to their door.Ippon Zuri ("pole-and-line fishing" in English) lets DoCoMo users in Japan's Fukuoka area set bait, cast their lines and wait for the virtual fish to bite. When they do, a slot machine game appears and, if all three numbers match up, the fish is caught and, as Pink Tentacle describes it, "a message is then relayed to the wholesaler, who picks up the real-world equivalent from the local seafood market and delivers it, whole and raw, to the player's doorstep." Kind of reminds us of Activision's Atari 2600 badge program, except updated for the new millennium ... and with raw fish!We think this is a great idea, and can't wait for the concept to be applied across the gaming world. Win a real trophy for success at virtual sports games! Win real cash for success at virtual game shows! Win a real disembodied skull for success at a first-person shooter! Er ... scratch that last one.[Via BB Gadgets]
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Fishing in 2.4: Daily quests and more
One of the first things I checked out on the PTR was the new fishing daily quests. Call me a glutton for punishment, but I actually enjoy fishing in WoW and have been increasingly interested in this quest ever since it came to my attention via the official forums. Now that the 2.4 test realm has been up for a few days, I've been able to do three of the new, randomly rotating quests which start from Old Man Barlo just outside of Shattrath City.The first quest I discovered, and the one that I've seen the most so far, is called "Shrimpin' Ain't Easy". It requires you to fly to Zangarmarsh and fish up a few Bloated Barbed Gill Trout. You can catch these by fishing in any of the lakes in the zone. Once you reel one in, you can open it like any other package in the game to collect a few shrimp and gray items. One fish can hold multiple shrimp and this quest can be completed pretty quickly, assuming that you don't encounter any bugs. Currently, I often encounter a bug where I'm unable to catch any fish (aside from the special fishing pools, which don't yield the quest fish) in Zangarmarsh while on this quest. Abandoning and retaking it has fixed the problem every time so far.
Fish!! New Sega Bass Fishing video surfaces
In our mind, only Sega could take a traditionally pedestrian, low-pressure sport such as fishing and infuse it with buckets of fun and energy.In this latest Sega Bass Fishing video, we're treated to a brief look at the Inlet area, before being whisked off to Fish!! to a rock soundtrack. Only an average catch this time, unlike the BIG ONE! we saw caught last month, but who cares? You'll have caught another one thirty seconds later. Our inner Dreamcast fanboy is looking forward to this one immensely -- let's hope Sega nails the Wiimote and Nunchuk controls.%Gallery-14457%
EU LotRO dev chat predicts infamous Shaman fishing
German Lord of the RIngs Online site Lotro-welten hosted its monthly dev chat with LotRO devs and community managers. Many of the questions for this dev chat focused on the new public PvMP dungeon, the Delving of Frór and the changes to the Creeps system. But most were requests for features that the devs didn't have any immediate plans to implement (translation: you no get!) One participant complained that many questions were asked covering information that has already been announced. The devs explained that not all players read patch notes, etc. and the dev chats are another way to get information out to the public. So be prepared for a certain amount of repetition.That being said, there was little new information to be gleaned. The few nuggets we found are: The Hobbies system will be introduced in Book 13 with the long requested Fishing ability. More Hobbies are planned in the future. A Shaman PvMP class is in the works for Book 13. That may not be the final name of the class, but the basic skills and abilities are in place. Monster play Infamy/Reknown costs will be lowered considerably in Book 12 to allow players to level faster in PvMP. A full transcript of the chat can be found on Lotro-welten's site.%Gallery-14799%
Other patch 2.4 reveals: Fishing quests, Pally gear, and Spellsteal tweak
Lots of activity today over on the forums from the Blizzard CMs. A few miscellaneous items in patch 2.4 that are sure to make people happy: First there is the fishing daily. Blizzard is continuing their trend of increasing the number of daily quests we can choose from. Drysc tells us that in 2.4 we'll be able to visit "the mysterious old man" near Silmyr Lake outside of Shattrath for the quest. Second, all of the Retribution Paladins will rejoice with the increase in damage their gear will provide. While we haven't been told exactly what the changes will be, we were told that overall stats will be tweaked. Third, Mages will enjoy a minor tweak to their Spellsteal ability, in that it will no longer override a buff that's longer in duration. And finally, healing grace will now reduce the chance that all of your spells will be dispelled by 10/20/30%.
Relax with a little Bass Fishing
A few new screens from the upcoming Sega Bass Fishing have surfaced, showcasing this idyllic location, as well as something a little more important to gameplay: fish! Frankly, this whole thing has us hankering for a vacation. A picnic on that lawn, a little fishing, some leisurely walks around the grounds ... anyone else feeling it? You can sign on for this virtual vacation late next month.%Gallery-14457%
Pull in some Bass Fishing screens
We're often anti-port, but it's hard to dislike a port that offers loads of extra content (by way of several new locales), enhanced gameplay, and good, plain fun ... all of which it looks like we're going to get with Sega Bass Fishing. In case you're unconvinced, we've got some freshly scaled screens for you in our gallery below, and a heavy dose of nostalgia we're happy to share. We may not have the Dreamcast's fishing controller, but we have the memories.%Gallery-14457%[Via press release]
Get Video of Sega Bass Fishing
Even if you hate fishing games, Sega Bass Fishing will probably provide the special kind of simple joy that seems to come only from Sega arcade games. There is something about the goofiness of the whole thing, and the English that is only slightly awkward, that we always associate with having a good time in video games. Yes, it's another port, but it's pretty hard to be upset at Sega. How can you not love a game whose Japanese title is Get Bass? It's an imperative!In any case, the Wii needs a good fishing game, and that's precisely what Sega Bass Fishing is. According to IGN's preview, the latest version includes not only improved graphics, but brand new locations in which to fish. If the Wiimote and Nunchuk can adequately replace the superb Dreamcast fishing controller, then there will be no reason not to Get Game.[Via NeoGAF]
Around Azeroth: Fishing in Darnassus
They say fishing is a relaxing pastime (I'd say sleep-inducing pastime, but that could just be me) -- so where better to enjoy it than the peaceful shores of Darnassus? Jorrak of Nordrassil (EU) tells us, "the relaxing melody of Darnassus is great to unwind and fish to." However, for some reason the Darnassians seem biased against naked Troll fishermen. So if you want to join Jorrak, be prepared for trouble.Do you have any unusual World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? Because we'd love to see your idea of the best looking instance on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!
Insider Trader: Hawking wares via the web
Insider Trader is your inside line on making, selling and using player-made products. It was an idea hiding in plain sight, so obvious that nobody thought of it: set up a web site to take orders for an in-game product. No, not a gold-selling site, not designed to generate real-world currency – instead, a site for collecting orders from players on a particular server for in-game service in exchange for in-game gold. That's exactly what Dethecus' first and biggest fishing entrepreneur, Koobluh (aka Chris Reinking), has done with Elite Fish Vendor. Unanimously applauded by other players, Elite Fish Vendor is not only an online ordering depot for fishing and cooking products, but also a growing reference for fishers and cooks of all levels. Koobluh generously shares his knowledge and experience with a free, open-to-all raw fish data list, fishing and cooking leveling guides and a brand new applet detailing all level 55+ fish and food buffs.Is such a site kosher? Players across the board seem to support the site's concept, which isn't so different from advertising in the trade channel or on server forums. But just this week, Koobluh received an account warning notice from Blizzard stating he had violated the harassment policy for advertising, specifically citing advertising "any non-beneficial, non-WoW related businesses, organizations, or websites." Players on the forums are posting in support of Koobluh, who's waiting and hoping to hear more from Blizzard about whether or not this type of site will be deemed inappropriate.Read more about Elite Fish Vendor, including how Koobluh came up with the idea and what keeps him going, after the break.
New cooking recipes in 2.4
In the current state of the Cooking profession, it is necessary to take up Fishing in order to progress one's skill to the maximum level. For some unknown reason, Cooking recipes between 275 and 285 skill have been changed in the recent patches. As community MVP Highlander points out, all but one of the recipes that grant skill-ups in this range require materials that can only be gained through fishing (which, I suppose, can also be purchased off of the auction house). The only recipe that doesn't require fishing is only attained through running Dire Maul, which seems to be an unrealistic requirement.While not offering any explanation as to why these recipes were ever changed in the first place, Blizzard poster Salthem gives hope of a solution. New recipes are set to be added in patch 2.4 which should hopefully fix this problem. While not providing a lot of details, he does mention that the recipes will definitely bridge this gap.Only time will tell exactly what recipes are being added, but perhaps they'll add a few more reliable ways to acquire skill points between 350 and 375 as well. What type of cooking recipes would you like to see in the patch?
WoW, Casually: December 7 - 13 activities and making cash
Each week, Robin Torres writes WoW, Casually for the player who has 2 hours or less to play at a time.This week I want to talk about how and why we should be making some in-game cash, but first let's get the schedule out of the way.Darkmoon Faire: It's still going on in Elwynn Forest, just south of Goldshire. This weekend is your last chance to turn your stuff in, redeem tickets or just get shot out of a cannon.Arathi Basin: The Call to Arms is for Arathi Basin this weekend, meaning shorter queues for getting bonus honor and your AB marks. If you are Alliance, this forum post is great for all BG strategy . If you are Horde, like me, well then you can wait until Zach posts his Arathi Basin strategy or just go back and read my brief summary.Battlegrounds: If you are trying to get a complete set of the Season 1 gear (and if not, why aren't you?), you should be doing a little bit of Battlegrounds a day. I try to do the BG Daily quests every day, not so much for the honor, but to force myself to get the marks from the different BGs. The fact is that I am a huge AV fan which means I have the marks for hats and gloves and that's it. Do as I say, not as I do and stuff.
Double dev chat goodness for LotRO Book 12
Two Lord of the Rings Online dev chats within one week? It's like Christmas came early for LotRO players. But it looks like some players are getting presents and others are getting coal. German website, Lotro-Welten, held its monthly LotRO dev chat for European players last week. And last night US players got their own dev chat at MMORPG. Strangely, the EU dev chat held a wealth of new information while the US chat had very little new or interesting. Here are the highlights from Lotro-Welten's chat, mostly applying to the upcoming Book 12 content patch: Fishing is being introduced as a new profession category called Hobbies Hobbies are professions that anyone can level up in regardless of their other tradeskill choices The barber in Book 12 will offer new hairstyles The new cosmetic system allowing you to display different clothing will not extend to hand held items and will be entirely disabled in PvMP zones More solo content is a big priority for the dev team and Angmar is getting a pass in Book 12 to become more solo friendly
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Fishing etiquette
The weekly fishing tournament is taking place this afternoon in Stranglethorn Vale, and I'll probably be in attendance, hoping desperately to catch the last rare fish I need. I'm often intrigued by the etiquette that comes into play in different parts of the game where people are thrust into close contact with one another, and the fishing contest is one of the more interesting examples. For instance, in my experience, most other players will leave you alone if you're fishing from a school, such as the Highland Mixed Schools in Terokkar Forest. I've often seen fellow crawdad seekers flying low overhead, but they have always moved to the next spot once they noticed my presence. On the other hand, the weekly contest seems to be a no-holds-barred match, with people fishing wherever they can, whether or not you claimed the spot first. Personally, I try to avoid fishing in the same school as other people as much as possible, even during the contest. How about you?
