Wonder Woman

Finally, DC puts out another good superhero movie!

Growing up on the isle of Themyscira, home of warrior women Amazons, Dianna (Gal Gadot) had always wanted to join their ranks - eventually undergoing training despite her mother, the Queen's, protests.

Out of love, vital information is with held from her and when an opportunity to leave the sheltered isle comes calling, in the form of Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), she goes to fulfill her mission of protecting the world from the God of War, in the middle of World War I. Those poor, poor Nazis.

I have to admit, this movie does have all the things I'm looking for in a superhero flick with good effects, nice camera work, explosions, nice eye candy (so much eye candy lol), a body count, good acting all around, a decent bad guy and most importantly a decent story!

Better than Batman V Superman!

There are nice funny bits, "war is hell" bits, and a good dose of "girl (em)power(ment)" all done without any viscera. I particularly like the artsy part near the beginning of the film. I can't really flaw this movie and while it doesn't beat my favorite (The Dark Knight, I'm a Batman fan), I also have no reason to not give it five god killers out of five. Highly recommend it and yes, I would definitely watch it again. :)

MMOs: Need more Heroes and less Soldiers

[Part of my MMO Design Folder]
 
Forced grouping is always stupid.

I don't mind the theory behind having 5 man dungeons, or 40 man raids or 100 man armies etc. Getting people to play together is the whole point in an MMO after all, however I still strongly believe that a skilled solo player should be able to handle anything and everything in the game. I'm not saying make it easy, or make it fast, just make it plausible. What irks me is when a game challenge is designed in such a way that you REQUIRE more than one person to complete it.

A timer on a boss with ludicrous hit points, a set of distant levers or buttons that require simultaneous activation, the requirement of being able to be in two places at once to pass a phase - for me these all detract from the actual encounter. In the end what you end up needing is a zerg of some description (often times a more cohesive unit) and you end up being just another face in the crowd. Woo, you killed the dragon... with like one hundred other guys (and occasionally with large artillery emplacements). Aren't you heroic!

No. The hero is the one who kills the dragon on his own. Yes it's easier in a group. Yes it's saner in a group, but by golly if you are that effing amazing at the game it should let you shine and play the way you want to play.

Do you prefer to be Kratos or one of the soldiers trying to take him down?