PlanetSide 2 Game Update 2
After a bit of a delay, the second major update to "PlanetSide 2" was released this past weekend. Following a somewhat bumpy rollout, things have settled down a bit and players are starting to see the real effects of the patch.
According to the development team, this update was intended to discourage spawn camping by diminishing experience rewards for killing freshly-spawned players, de-emphasize KDR (kill/death ratio) by adding and calling out experience gained by team play, and better support defensive play by redesigning many of the base buildings throughout the game world.
There are of course a myriad of other changes listed in the patch notes that impact various other aspects of the game but those are the broad strokes.
From what I've seen so far, it seems like most players are still coming to grips with the changes and haven't really embraced them in terms of changing their play style. I've seen a few nice battles post-patch but zerging still seems to yield Certification Points (CP) faster than any other tactic.
I'm frankly surprised that the successful defense of facilities still doesn't yield any CP as that would seem like the most obvious way to encourage defensive play. I'm not saying that players should get bonus CP for every attack that's repelled but it would be nice for the reward to scale based on the size of the conflict and the ratio of attackers versus defenders as it would in real military service. That is after all how and why soldiers are often promoted in reality. That same sort of variable CP gain can and should be applied to offense as well. Why should players be rewarded the same for capturing a base in two minutes with no resistance versus a 20 minute bloodbath? It just makes sense and the game seems to already have access to all the data it would need to make something like that work.
It will probably be a week or so before we see if the changes in this latest patch produce the desired results. Right now, I'm cautiously optimistic and have started playing again as time allows. "PlanetSide 2" still has a way to go to live up to its full potential but this seems like a good step in the right direction.
PlanetSide 2 (via Steam)
PlanetSide 2 Boot Camp (for new players)
Omertà: City of Gangsters
I want to like this game. I really do. There aren't enough quality, tactical, turn-based strategy games being made these days– much less any with an overarching, strategy meta game. In point of fact, "Omertà" is a well-made game based on the handful of hours that I've played of it so far but there's something about it that I just can't shake.
From a mechanical standpoint, there's a lot to like about "Omertà." The strategic, "empire building" aspects seem well thought out and interesting. There are some compelling and unique aspects to the tactical combat system to boot such as the various, character-specific attack types and special abilities but something about the overall experience just doesn't work for me.
To put it plainly, I don't care for the subject matter. The whole premise of being a mob boss holds little appeal for me and I simply can't get past that.
I may play some more of "Omertà" at some point but with its "co-op" mode limited to two stand-alone missions that don't have any direct tie-in to the single player experience, I suspect that it won't be a game that I'll be compelled to finish or return to frequently.
If the concept and esthetics of "Omertà" seem like your cup of tea, I'd say that it's probably worth a look even though it doesn't really resonate with me.
Omertà: City of Gangsters (via Steam)
Wizardry Online
I hesitate to even mention this game because in a great many ways it's rather unremarkable; however, I do have to say that I am intrigued by the idea of a "hardcore" MMO with perma-death, which is what "Wizardry Online" promised when recently added to the growing number of free-to-play titles on Steam.
Unfortunately, the conditions required for perma-death are pretty extreme and unlikely to occur and despite a few "hardcore" trappings such as the need to sleep or rest to regain health and mana, there isn't much happening in "Wizardry Online" that you can't find done better in other free-to-play MMOs.
That and the number of technical and performance issues many are having with the game would seem to be the reasons for it being removed from Steam just a week after being added.
Will I play more of it? Probably not. Will it return to Steam at some point in the future? I have no idea. Would I be interested in a game that was actually as "hardcore" as "Wizardry Online" claims to be? Hell yes but I also don't see how a truly hardcore, perma-death game design could ever work in the context of a free-to-play business model. Seems like it would end up like a certain half-finished, rip-off zombie game that I won't do the favor of mentioning by name here. :)
If you are interested in checking out "Wizardry Online," it is of course still available through its official web site but don't take that as a recommendation. It strikes me as a game that would be pretty safe to give a pass after spending a few hours with it.
Wizardry Online (Official Site)
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