Pro Tips from an XCOM Ironman

"XCOM: Enemy Unknown" (XCOM) was one of my favorite games of 2012 despite its lack of a co-operative gameplay component. Back when I shared my thoughts on it, I'd completed about half of the game on "Normal" difficulty and already knew that I would be re-playing it at least once to experience its "Ironman" mode, which I now view as the preferred way to play the game.

For those unfamiliar with it, "Ironman" mode (accessed through the advanced options when starting a new game) makes a single, critical change that redefines the way XCOM is played. In "Ironman" mode, you have one and only one saved game, which is automatically updated after each significant action takes place. This means that there is no re-loading from a save to fix any mistakes you might make or recover soldiers lost to unexpected or random events during missions.

This is in short a hardcore mode for the game that forces the player to live with the consequences of their actions and the cruel sting of "XCOM logic," which often places you in unfair and or unrealistic situations for the sake of drama.

The hardest part about playing with the "Ironman" option enabled is that it very clearly reveals and emphasizes some of the ways in which the game is occasionally flawed. From enemies that get free movement upon being seen, to enemies that spawn seemingly out of nowhere, to critical aspects of the strategy meta game being obfuscated, to hit percentages that are often laughable given the weapons being used and the supposed capabilities of the soldiers using them– there are plenty of nits to pick with XCOM that are easy to overlook when you can simply re-load to avoid or anticipate them.

Having played through the game successfully with "Ironman" enabled, I'd like to offer the following tips to help others avoid some of the frustration I experienced while doing so. As there is an inherent element of randomness to the game, it would be impossible to predict every possible bump along the way, which is part of the fun of playing in this manner but these tips should help illuminate some of the more consistent and potentially-annoying aspects of the process.

#1 - Satellites, Satellites, Satellites

Satellites are the most important thing in the early stages of the game. Building enough "Satellite Uplinks," "Power Generators" and "Workshops" to provide satellite coverage to all the countries participating in XCOM as quickly as possible is crucial to your success. This is a fact that the game does a terrible job of communicating to new players.

When choosing what to do with your base, you should always first and foremost concentrate on achieving total satellite coverage of the world map. Everything else is secondary and should only be done if it won't interfere with your ability to deploy additional satellites as quickly as possible.

You should launch all the satellites you have prior to each "Council Meeting" so that you reap the maximum possible benefit of having them in play each month. You should also ensure that at least one "Interceptor" aircraft is available in the areas where satellites are being added so that it can thwart any alien attempts to destroy them.

While it may sometimes be necessary to launch a satellite over a particular country to reduce panic, you should generally prioritize their use over countries that will provide more money to XCOM as a result, or to achieve total coverage of an area and gain the benefit of that coverage. The "We Have Ways" perk for example is conferred by full coverage of South America. This only requires two satellites and can be achieved almost immediately after the beginning of the game if your base is located there. This provides very useful "instant" results whenever alien autopsies and interrogations are necessary.

The decisions you make when building your base are just as important
as the decisions you make on the battlefield.

#2 - If You Don't Need It, Don't Buy It

This goes hand in hand with #1 as spending money before you need to can severely limit your ability to produce satellites and other essential items when the need for them is great.

Keep in mind that you always have time to buy essential items from "Engineering" before a mission starts, which is another option the game doesn't communicate well. In other words, you can always back out of the soldier select screen prior to launch, go to "Engineering" and buy whatever weapons, armor or accessories you need, then return to the soldier select screen from the "Hologlobe."

The game often makes it seem like you have to go straight into missions but that's not the case– so don't waste time and money trying to anticipate what your soldiers might need for future battles. Just buy gear as you need it.

#3 - Life is Precious– Except When it Isn't

If satellites are the key to the early game, high-level soldiers are the key to the late game. Keeping as mnay of your soldiers alive for as long as possible to benefit from the extra abilities, heartiness and accuracy they wield as a result is critical to your long-term success in the game.

Having said that, you should not always use the same soldiers in every mission. A good rule of thumb is to have one of each rank present so that you get a nice balance of power and upgrade potential across the squad. You should always take at least one "Rookie" or "Corporal" on every mission to give them the opportunity to rank up and give yourself access to a "disposable" unit that can be used to recon enemy positions or undertake more dangerous tasks such as bomb disposal while more experienced soldiers with better aim and abilities cover them.

Along those lines, I recommend having your lowest-ranking soldiers attempt live captures with the "Arc Thrower" when they are necessary as it can be downright brutal when a leveled-up soldier misses with one at point blank range only to be shredded by their would-be target when the alien turn hits.

You should also be sure to unlock perks from the "Officer Training" area of the "Barracks" as soon as they become available. Attaining these perks should be your next priority behind satellites so that you and your soldiers can benefit from them as soon as possible.

Dead soldiers can't fight aliens and new recruits will need to get a few
missions under their belt before their aim becomes reliable.

#4 - Use the Gray Market

As you complete missions, you will gain access to a variety of alien items that can be sold for money in the "Situation Room's" "Gray Market." While it's generally possible to make your way through the game only selling items that are "safe to sell," there may come a time when you need to sell a few items that can serve other purposes to get the money you need to build something critical. Do not hesitate to do this if it is your only option. "Excavation," the construction of new facilities and satellites, and other money-driven tasks take time. If for example, selling items on the "Gray Market" is the difference between launching satellites before a council meeting and losing countries to panic, you should absolutely do it.

Beyond such situations, be careful not to overuse the "Gray Market" as the items you sell via it are often difficult to replace and are usually critical to achieving research and production objectives at various points throughout the game. A good idea is to look at the research and production requirements for things you think are likely to become an issue, then try to sell items that aren't related to those projects or items that you have in surplus.

#5 - When in Doubt, Blow it Up

One of the trickiest balancing acts in the game is deciding when to use explosives. The good thing about explosives is that they do a lot of damage to enemies and can often go a long way toward tipping a battle in your soldiers' favor. The bad thing about them is that they destroy many of the items you might otherwise recover from the aliens– especially when used inside ships or bases.

The use of explosives is a very situational thing, so it's hard to generalize it down to a simple rule. In my experience with the game, if explosives will save the life of an experienced soldier, their use is worth the loss of additional alien materials.

Taken as a whole, XCOM is a great game and well worth experiencing– even if you never partake in "Ironman" mode. Its quirks and issues, while at times frustrating and perplexing, are for better or worse parts of it and are ultimately things that I've come to believe make more sense in the context of "Ironman."

Hopefully, the above tips will help those of you considering an "Ironman" playthrough to achieve a more ideal experience than the game would otherwise provide.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown (via Steam)

Shout Out: Thomas Was Alone

It's been a while since I've played a game that I would consider charming. I have been stirred or moved by some recent games to be sure. "DayZ," "XCOM: Enemy Unknown" and "Jagged Alliance: Back in Action" sunk their hooks deep into me in 2012 to name a few but while those games are each quite compelling and evocative in their own right, they aren't what I'd consider charming.

For that, a game has to give me something I didn't expect in a way that feels universally positive and that's exactly what "Thomas Was Alone" does.

From its simple yet stylish visuals, to its sublime soundtrack and narration, to its clever and refreshing gameplay– this is a game that begs to be played and enjoyed.

As in any good platformer, obstacles and challenges abound for Thomas and his new-found friends but there is also exploration, discovery and a palpable sense of joy in using the abilities of each character to traverse the game's 100 levels.

Don't be fooled by its apparent simplicity. Visual artistry abounds throughout the game.

It speaks volumes about the magnitude of this game's charm that a collection of simple two-dimensional shapes could exude the level of personality and depth that come across loud and clear while playing through the three to five hours that make up the bulk of the experience.

I really struggle to think of another game since "Portal" that so thoroughly nails the art of merging component parts that are themselves brilliant into a cohesive and triumphant whole without stifling or otherwise ruining any of them.

In short, "Thomas Was Alone" is a must-play game.

One last thing: I wanted to toss a mini shout out to Ohmwrecker (The Masked Gamer)– the YouTuber who first brought this game to my attention.

Thomas Was Alone (via Steam)

When Killing is the Easiest Thing to Do

There's been a lot of talk lately about video game violence as there always is after tragedies like the one that occured in Newtown, Connecticut in December. It's a subject that I think about periodically both as a person who plays a lot of games and as a person who makes them. Consequently, I feel the urge to address it here.

I have always firmly believed that violence in video games does not inherently encourage real world violence and that belief has never waivered. I also don't believe the reverse to be true.

In my opinion, the vast majority of violence in video games can be attributed to laziness. Killing is simply the easiest thing to have a player do.

Create an environment, fill it with "enemies," drop the player in with a weapon, add a few basic elements like a scoring metric and you have a game.

Want a story? Make it a revenge tale. Want character progression? Give the player experience and or skill points for killing things. Want to add tension? Add more "enemies" or take them away for a while and being them back unexpectedly.

These concepts are all so simple and surefire that it's often difficult to look beyond them. As with other creative works, the low-hanging fruit is the most tempting. Turn something into a business and that only exacerbates the issue.

What possible motivation could a major video game developer and or publisher with millions of dollars invested in the development and marketing of a game have to deviate from a formula that's been proven to work time and time again?

There aren't hundreds, perhaps thousands, of violent video games released every year because game players are bloodthirsty psychopaths looking to feed some deep-seated desire to kill. It happens because those sorts of games take the least creative and technical effort to produce and lead to the highest level of profit.

As I said before, I don't believe that video games make a person violent. I have personally killed millions of people, aliens, animals, robots, monsters and barely-classifiable creatures in games over the years. I have killed them individually and en masse. I have killed them accidentally, purposefully, casually and callously but none of that has ever made me want to kill in real life.

For all their attempts at verisimilitude, video games are not real and a person who is incapable of distinguishing between fantasy and reality has bigger problems than whether or not they play video games.

To be sure, people are often impacted or inspired negatively and or positively by a video game in the same way they might be moved by a book, a piece of music, a film or dozens of other stimuli but as has been established regarding those mediums, that is not sufficient to drive the vast majority of people to any sort of real-world action.

There are those who argue that the interactive nature of video games makes them somehow different from other types of entertainment. To this I say look closer. "Choose Your Own Adventure" books and the ability to rewind, replay and edit audio and video have all been around for a long time now. People always find ways to interact with their preferred artistic forms. Interaction merely comes easier where video games are concerned.

Having said all that, I understand the temptation to look at something like "Call of Duty" multiplayer and say "Oh, obviously that must encourage violence. It's a bunch of people running around with guns killing each other over and over again." I get it. It's more of that low-hanging fruit and if video game makers are going to pick it to make and sell their games, they shouldn't be surprised when people do the same to decry them.

But video games are much, much more than "Call of Duty" multiplayer. There are plenty of games out there that have no violence in them to speak of (cough, Powergrids, cough) or where violence is appropriately contextualized such that it makes sense and doesn't feel lazy or cheap. "XCOM: Enemy Unknown" is a good, recent example.

My overall point is this: While I acknowledge and disapprove of the fact that video game makers often use violence as a crutch in their craft, I do not subscribe to the idea that violence in video games makes people violent in reality. My own personal experiences with games as well as those of the many people I've discussed the subject with leads me to conclude that they are no more or less influential than any other form of artistic expression.

One final note with regard to children: I personally don't believe that children should play violent video games as a general rule until their ability to distinguish and contextualize that violence has fully developed. I also respect a parent's right to choose what their child consumes, and have access to information regarding the content of a game prior to purchase as provided by the current ESRB rating system. "M" rated games should not be sold or marketed to children and there should be stiff monetary penalties for doing so.

Until next time, have a good one folks!

The 10 Best Co-Op Games of 2012

What a difference a year makes. Looking at last year's list, a few things spring to mind: Narrative has taken a back seat to gameplay, free-to-play has truly arrived, computer gaming is back in a big way and bigger doesn't always mean better– as many of the games on this year's list were created by very small development teams, with a few notable exceptions.

Of course, as always, this is simply my take on things based on the games I played this year with friends. Your mileage may vary. Speaking of mileage...

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#10 - F1 Race Stars -  Kart Racing games aren't generally known for innovation and in a lot of ways, "F1 Race Stars" is just another kart racer; however, it does allow you to race co-operatively with up to five friends. That's right. You can do a 6v6 race against AI karts or another team of six players if you really want. For that functionality alone, it's worth a look. It's also a well made game with some interesting F1-inspired mechanics that shuns some of the tropes of the genre such as power-sliding in favor of boost and repair zones that are more true to the spirit of the F1 license. If you like kart racing games and have at least one friend who does as well, "F1 Race Starts" is worthy of your attention.

#9 - Guild Wars 2 - The traditional MMO as defined by "World of Warcraft" (WoW) is on the decline and has been for a few years now. As such, "Guild Wars 2" (GW2) is in many ways the swan song for an entire genre of gameplay. I seriously can't imagine another MMO of this type being released to anything but a collective yawn from even the most die hard fans of these sorts of games. Fortunately, GW2 is a really well done game with some very compelling facets and nuances that make it the clear choice for those who just can't get enough cooldown-oriented gameplay. The lack of a monthly fee and the release of GW2 for Mac also effectively put the last nail in WoW's coffin as far as I'm concerned. It will be interesting to see how Blizzard reacts long term to their cash cow being effectively skewered through the heart because "Mists of Panderia" certainly didn't cut it.

#8 - Chivalry: Medieval Warfare - If you're only going to buy one multiplayer, medieval combat game this year, you should read this whole list first; however, if you have room in your heart for two, "Chivalry" is worth a look. It's a bit more basic and rough around the edges than I'd prefer but there are some interesting game modes and features present in "Chivalry" that I wish were available in other such games.  If you're looking for narrative or anything beyond hack and slash antics, look elsewhere but if you want a fun, frantic game to play with friends, you could do a lot worse.

#7 - Orion: Dino Beatdown - Every so often, a game comes along that I end up loving despite its flaws. In a purely objective sense, "Orion: Dino Beatdown" is a terrible game that has languished in a half-finished state since its release over eight months ago. Despite that, there is a good game in there, struggling desperately to exist. I believe the development team when they say they are trying to make the game what it was intended to be via post-release support but the fact remains that they are not there yet. If they had been able to deliver on this game's promise at launch or even by the end of the year, it would have been near the top of this list. As it stands, it's merely a novel, buggy little game with a lot of heart. For more on the current state of "Orion: Dino Beatdown," check out this post.

#6 - Torchlight II - "Torchlight II" is the game "Diablo III" should have been. With the addition of controller support, it could have been one of the best games of the year. Despite that omission, it is still the pinnacle of point and click dungeon crawlers. There is no better game of this type out there and I suspect it will be a long time before that changes.

#5 - Borderlands 2 - About the only bad thing you could say about "Borderlands 2" is that it's more of the same. In every measurable way, it surpasses its predacessor but that's simply to be expected. If this were the first game in the series, it would be hailed as the greatest co-op FPS of all time but ultimately it's just a really good sequel to a really great game. No more. No less.

#4 - War of the Roses - Multiplayer, medieval combat has been done before ("Mount & Blade" for example) but it's yet to be done quite as well as in "War of the Roses." This game really nails the details in a way that others simply don't and it has seen a bevy of post-launch improvements and tweaks that have kept me coming back to it over and over again. It's not perfect but it's the best I've seen so far where this type of gameplay is concerned.

#3 - Frontline Tactics - A free-to-play, turn-based strategy game with co-op? Hell yes! If this game were a bit deeper mechanically and had a narrative and/or meta game a la "Jagged Alliance," it would be my game of the year. As it stands, it's simply a fun, little game to play alone or with a friend for a quick, tactical fix.

#2 - PlanetSide 2 - The idea of an MMOFPS set in a persistent, futuristic world where territory and resources change hands between three factions is just as good now as it was when the original PlanetSide was released years ago. The difference is that technology and business models have finally caught up with that premise. As a result, "PlanetSide 2" is the first truly "must play" free-to-play game despite its often-brutal learning curve. If you and your friends aren't playing this game, you really should be. Need help getting started? Check out my "PlanetSide 2 Boot Camp" post.

#1 - DayZ - How could it be anything else? Without a doubt, "DayZ" was the best thing to happen to gaming in 2012 (co-op or otherwise) and even as a broken, hacker-infested mod it was the most refreshing, important game released in years, maybe ever. "DayZ" the game will only show its true potential in 2013 but "DayZ" the mod was clearly the co-op experience of 2012.

FYI: Those of you interested in the status of DayZ standalone should check out the development team's tumblr, which was updated today.

Also, in case anyone missed them, here are some of my favorite DayZ-related posts from the past year:

My Short Story "Tripping DayZ"

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3

My Guides

• Survival Guide
• Starting Without a Gun

My 5 Favorite Videos

my favorite solo play video

group madness in Elektro

my favorite episode that nobody watched :)

our most action-packed adventure

my tribute to DayZ

Returning to Form

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I will be restarting regular blog updates next week. After a restful and reinvigorating holiday season, I feel like the time is right to increase the frequency of my posts again.

I'll be shooting for an article per week at first and will also be assessing the viability of bringing the DayZ update back once it becomes clear exactly how far away from standalone we are. I'm still of the opinion that updates to the mod and its general state are too inconsistent to justify a weekly post but I have also been having some interesting experiences on private hives with custom maps that may be worth writing about or showing via video in the meantime.

Thanks to everyone who purchased Powergrids during the holiday season. I'm happy to report that it continues to function properly on iOS 6 and new devices like the iPad mini despite being developed before they existed. I'm considering doing a very small update to Powergrids sometime in the next few months as part of the promotional effort for my next game– so feel free to submit any bug reports or feature requests to support@powergrids.info and I'll see what I can do.

Finally, I wanted to mention that I am most-likely going to be dropping coverage of console games from the blog this year. GIven my lack of interest in the "Wii U" or the systems Microsoft and Sony are likely to release at the end of 2013, I've decided to focus on computer (PC) and mobile (iOS) gaming for the foreseeable future. When all three of the new consoles have been out for a while, I may pick up whichever one I think is best and start covering it but that's not going to happen until at least early 2014.

That's it for now. Look forward to a post on the top 10 co-op games of 2012 next week!

Shout Out: Dragon Nest

There's no shortage of free-to-play MMOs out there and while most of them fall short of more elaborate, pay-to-play titles like "Guild Wars 2" and "World of Warcraft," there is the occasional exception.

"Dragon Nest" is a good example of a game that is way better than it has any right to be. On paper, it's just another MMO with hardly anything unique or innovative about it, yet somehow it manages to be a lot more entertaining than I dared hope.

If I had to try to put my finger on exactly what makes "Dragon Nest" worth playing, it's simply that it's fun. It doesn't take itself very seriously and doesn't expect you to do so either. At the standard difficulty setting for each instanced dungeon, the game's action-oriented combat (one of its best features) is pretty easy. Yes, you can crank up the difficulty for a greater challenge and greater rewards but that's not really the reason to play this game.

There's a brisk, care-free, whimsical quality to "Dragon Nest" that peaks when you're just cruising through and consuming its content. Increasing the difficulty too high basically kills the fun and turns it into the second job that every MMO eventually ends up feeling like that much faster.

Depending on the class you play, "Hard" difficulty might be more or less hard than you'd expect, so a little experimentation is a good thing but I'd recommend against fiddling with the difficulty setting until you've cleared a particular dungeon at least once in the interest of keeping things flowing.

I've hit level 13 in "Dragon Nest" and it's been a pretty fun ride so far. Would I pay to play it? Probably not but I would definitely consider tossing an in-game purchase or two their way if it manages to keep me interested.

I personally really like the idea of a full-featured MMO that feels good to play casually and in that regard "Dragon Nest" pretty much nails it.

I streamed a little over an hour of "Dragon Nest" the other day, which you can check out over at twitch.tv if you're interested. The stream's video got pretty choppy in spots when the action became hectic but the audio is good throughout and I go into some more detail about the game in that.

If nothing else, "Dragon Nest" will give those of you with no money to spend on the Steam Holiday Sale something to check out. :)

Dragon Nest (via Steam)

PlanetSide 2 Boot Camp

I've been playing "PlanetSide 2" (PS2) since beta and now that it's been released and made available as a free-to-play game via Steam, I find myself playing even more of it than ever.

The problem with PS2 is that it's a very complicated game that does almost nothing to reveal its intricacies to new players.

Some might say that the learning curve is part of the experience and while I can agree with that to a certain extent, there are some fundamental things that I wish I'd known about when I first started playing that I'd like to share with those of you who are interested in the game.

The Basics

PS2 is a first-person shooter about world domination. You play as one of three factions vying for control of a planet's three continents and their respective resources.

For those of you who play a lot of games, PS2 is like a cross between "Halo" (esthetically), "Battlefield" (mechanically) and "World War II Online" (meta game).

For those unfamiliar with those points of reference, PS2 takes place in a futuristic/alien setting and is comprised of a series of battles between infantry of several types, various land and air vehicles, and mounted defenses over facilities that confer territory and equipment and/or bonuses on those who control them.

The overall goal of the game is to control all the territory on a given continent to reap the benefit of doing so for your faction in future battles.

To accomplish this, you must assault enemy bases and facilities to capture them while maintaining control of those your faction already holds.

As you might expect, the overarching goals are not something that an individual or even a small group of players can hope to accomplish on their own; however, there are many opportunities for individual players and small groups to make meaningful contributions to said goals.

Your First Session

There are a handful of things new players should focus on when first starting to play PS2:

1 - Learn to communicate - When you first spawn into the game, you will be dropped into combat with a randomly-assigned squad of players engaged in battle. This is quite literally a trial by fire and you should go into it expecting to die.

In this situation, friendly players have blue names above them, enemies are reddish-pink and those friendly players in your squad are green.

You can press the "q" key to mark enemy targets (those with no name above them) so that others in your squad/faction can spot them more easily.

You can speak to those near you by pressing and holding "numberpad 4."

Be aware that spotting enemies and using this local chat will likely reveal your presence to anybody nearby (be they friendly or enemy).

You can speak directly to your squad leader by pressing and holding "numberpad 7."

And you can speak to your whole squad by pressing and holding "z."

Depending on how things go, you may find yourself getting killed a lot or rolling with a group that's killing a lot of enemies. That's just the luck of the draw but either way, there's something you'll need to learn how to do soon enough.

2 - Learn to Navigate - PS2's game world is huge. Each continent is a significant area divided into clusters of hexagons that represent territories controlled by the various factions.

When you pull up the map by pressing "m," you should take note of a few things.

There is an "Instant Action" interface in the lower left, which can be used periodically to deploy to hotspots on the map where the fighting is most intense or to where you squad leader is at a given moment. This is very handy but can only be used a few times an hour, so use it wisely.

A much more common method for moving around the map is to use the "Redeploy" button in the lower right of the map screen. This will let you essentially teleport to any of several nearby spawn locations or your faction's Warpgate (home base) at any time and can be used as often as you like.

When you're moving through the game world normally, be it on foot or in a vehicle, there are a few things worth noting.

You can use the "h" key to toggle the size of the mini map.

When the mini-map is small, there is a compass directly above it.

When you are near a base or facility and the mini map is small, you will see indicators for any control points relevant to that facility above the compass. Blue control points indicate those held by the enemy. Green control points are owned by your faction and flashing control points are currently being contested.

Larger facilities often have secondary objectives such as shield generators and transportation systems that will be indicated by icons on your heads up display as you look around the game world. As with control points, blue icons indicate objectives held by enemies, green icons indicate friendly points and those flashing are being contested. These icons can also be red if they indicate a facility that's damaged or destroyed and needs to be repaired by an Engineer.

3 - Order the Sampler Platter - There are several infantry classes in PS2 with varying weapons and special abilities. There are also several ground and air vehicles, with faction-specific variants in many cases. A good idea when you first start playing is to try out all the different infantry classes and vehicles. A good place for this is your faction's Warpgate, which you'll always start at in subsequent play sessions and can always be accessed via the "Redeploy" button in the lower right of the map screen.

At the Warpgate, you'll find terminals that allow you to switch your infantry class (indicated by a gun), summon ground vehicles (tank), air vehicles (aircraft) or travel to other continents (globe).

This is also a good place to explore the rest of the game's interface and settings as it's generally a safe haven unless your faction is on the verge of losing the continent completely.

There are a myriad of options and settings in PS2 that are definitely worth taking the time to explore if you want to get the most out of the game. A lot of it is pretty self explanatory and many of the settings such as whether or not the mini map rotates to match your point of view are simple matters of preference.

As important as all those settings and choices can be, there's one facet of the game interface that I want to call out specifically.

4 - Get Certified - When you participate in the capture or defense of facilities or accomplish other goals within PS2, you'll be awarded with Certification Points (CP), which allow you to unlock various abilities, weapons and other enhancements related to the various classes, vehicles and roles in the game.

For example: At level 10, you can spend 30 CP to unlock the ability to periodically drop a spawn beacon when you are a squad leader that members of your squad can deploy to every so often. This is an extremely useful certification for those intending to lead a group into battle.

You can also use CP to buy optics and other attachments for weapons or class-specific enhancements like additional health.

Once you've tried out all the different classes and picked a favorite, I highly recommend focusing on getting as many relevant certifications for that class as you can as they will enhance your abilities and give you a real edge in battle versus other players who don't have them.

It's certainly possible to dabble in various classes, spending points here and there to make a character who's effective in multiple roles but focusing on one or two types of certifications will allow you to access some pretty significant perks early on in the leveling process that you might otherwise have trouble attaining.

5 - Find Your Niche - One of the best things about PS2 is that it supports a wide range of play styles. Want to be a professional pilot who ferries troops around the battlefield? You can do that. Want to be a sneaky Infiltrator who works alone in the shadows to spot or snipe enemies and sabotage their facilities? You can do that. Want to lead a squad, platoon or outfit to victory by setting waypoints on the map, issuing squad orders and using spawn beacons and smoke to establish rally points? You can do it. Want to just run around and kill stuff? Hell yes, you can do that! :)

The point is that there's a lot you can do in PS2– whether you're doing it alone, with friends or total strangers, it doesn't matter because the game provides the tools to accommodate just about any play style.

Having said all that, PS2 is not for everyone. Some folks just won't care for it and that's completely fine; however, if any of this sounds the slightest bit interesting, you owe it to yourself to check this game out. If it clicks for you, you're going to have a lot of fun with it and have some of those special moments that only games like this can provide– those "I can't believe what just happened!" experiences that you'll want to tell your friends about even though you know they're just going to look at you like you're crazy. :) It's that kind of game.

PlanetSide 2 (via Steam)

Shout Out: Frontline Tactics

Things have been crazy as usual lately but I have been finding some time to do a little streaming here and there. Most of it's been pretty low-impact but I have done a couple streams of a cool, new Free-to-Play game called "Frontline Tactics" that's now available for Mac & PC through Steam.

I feel like these particular streams turned out pretty well and were worth bringing to your attention, so I've highlighted them on my Twitch channel and added them to my YouTube channel.

As always, if you want to keep up with what I'm doing, especially now that my schedule is less predictable, please follow/subscribe to my channels and/or Twitter.

Frontline Tactics (via Steam)