So, no matter where I go, blogs, forums, game stores, or conventions, there seems to be this horrible divide in the gamer community. 2nd editon or 3rd edition. 3rd edition gets complaints that it's "D&D for dummies" or is't not the same game. There are too many books, and it's become commercialized. ( which is a rose colored glasses situation to be sure) I  spent a lot of time playing 2nd edition from, I maintain that it saved my life. ( different story but open to anyone who asks). I play 3.5 now, and I I think I see where the divide comes into play.

I still use the rule books as a framework, but when you start living by them to the letter, things lose their fun. Thats why the older crowds loved Second so much. There weren't a lot of rules, and the books were ambiguous and open to interpretation. Due to that, we had to make things up, there was no other option. When 3rd came out, Wizards of the coast didn't grasp the concept of imagination, bu they were at the mercy of the old developers/testers/writers. So third had  a lot more rules. EVERYTHING was laid out. and they added the grid. Old school players saw it as the death of the imagination and freedom that they enjoyed in years past while newer players found it easier to grasp the system. Unfortunately, there's this divide now between old and new that sparks fierce loyalty to one side or the other because nobody looks at the heart of the issue, and that's still an RPG ... in the purest sense of the term. ( and fuck you to Final fantasy and Fable for taking that away from us). When we sit down at the table, you're allowed to break the rules, you're allowed to make things up, and, more importantly than anything else, always take the books as suggestion and guidance and never as law. Innovation and creativity

The pitfall of 3rd edition is that, when someone is presented with so many options and rules and material, it's easy to just take that and run with it. At its core, THAT is what second edition gamers hated about 3rd. It allowed for the imagination to die. For conformity and monotony to become the norm. And even worse, new gamers didn't even realize they had a choice. But, for those willing and able to look past the confines fo the book, the system lends itself fantastically to new worlds, games, and adventures.

So if your'e an old school gamer who hates 3rd, don't spend time hating it, spend time warping it, shaping it to YOUR design. It's still the same old game, just with new cloths. Share your passion of the game with those who have yet to unlock the full scope of it and the game we love will never die.

So old, yet still acting like I'm in school.

So, I said I was going to update this thing here frequently, apparently "frequently" in Velky world is the same as every Giraffe trimester. ( that's roughly every 5 months, stop looking at Wikipedia). So here's the quick update:

Skyrim- Bought it, played it, beat it, got incredibly bored with the side stuff. While I couldn't get enough of Oblivion and Morrowind, Skyrim seems to have lost its Elder Scrolls luster. Don't get me wrong. the game was still enthralling... it just doesn't have that same longevity that other games have. So, now it's getting dusty on my shelf.

MW3- I eventually bough it, I'm into the 3rd or 4th mission in the campaign and I've played a bit online, but its has a fun story attached to it. I bought a 4000 microsoft point card with the game, applied it to my account, next day my points were gone and all my info had been changed to Korean. So, did the password changes, called Microsoft, and lost access to my account for almost a month. Seriously left a bad taste in my mouth and I have yet to go back into MW3 after. So..... its still waiting.

Halo- Fuck Halo......thats all. 

It's that time of year again.

It's that time of year again. As soon as the weather cools off, I get this feeling like I need to play games. I start writing new D&D campaigns, pre-order the upcoming games for {insert platform here}, and start re-considering games that I've long put in the closet with intentions to remember fondly but never pull out again.


side note: there is nothing like the smell of a new pack of Magic: the Gathering cards... Somewhere between the feeling you get walking out of a too-hot shower into a cool crisp room and the feeling you get when you realize that you never changed your alarm and don't have to work for 3 more hours.

So today I decided that it was time to stop dicking around, and make a decision. Problem was, with so many options I had it narrowed to 2 things, pre-order one of the many new 360 games coming out or go to the comic store and look for a new board game. Well, I was able to use Halloween to justify finally picking up ZOMBIES! an tell my wife that it was a good "party" game.

Now that I'm off the hook for the decisions, I just have to........ make a decision.......damn it. It was down to Skyrim, Modern Warfare 3, or Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. While you might be saying "Velky! It's obvious!"... keep in mind that I have a budget, full-time job, and I'm back in school. So lets start with the first one.

    Skyrim is the followup to Oblivion and the 5th installment of the Elder Scrolls series. I'm old enough to be a true veteran and have played them all faithfully And while the anticipation for this game has seriously made me consider investing in a DIY catheter to take care of the mess. But, if theres anything stopping me, it's that my previous Elder Scrolls experiences have taught me one thing.... I have no off switch when playing these games. I woul duse my own child to put out a grease fire before willingly turning this game off. So +1 for  awesome and -1 for obsession.

     Whenever I think of games, the RPG genre is almost always what pops into my head. But I have to admit, that a vast majority of my time has been spent playing Halo and CoD. ( yeah, look at my hip acronyms). Not because I like shooters, hell i'm not even good at them. But they give me the perfect social interaction with friends and other gamers in the perfect fashion. Meaning, I can talk to them in 5-10 second conversations in between achieving objectives and then turn off the box without a second thought. Plus, I know they're going to be an awesome fucking games. Choice is between MW3 vs. Halo:CE .... that equates to friends vs nostalgia.

Well.... I think I know where my heart lies. THE CHOICE IS MADE. I'll see you guys again after Ive severely overindulged.