Random Shots: Monday Is Not A Thinking Day

• I'm not in a wordy mood, so my bullet points will be very bullet pointy today.


• I finished Mass Effect 2 at 3 am last night. I'm not ready to go into it, other than to say it's a great game. I'm thinking about writing a non-spoiler post for tomorrow, but putting all the spoiler talk in the comments. What do you think?


• On the MMO pundit front, Wolfshead brought up the immersion word again. Personally, I think immersion is the easy excuse for people who just aren't enjoying a game any more. The link comes from Evizaer from That's A Terrible Idea who does a great job getting to the heart of the issue. But the best reply is in the comments section of the original post. Moorgard from Mobhunter absolutely takes Wolfshead to school over the reality of an immersion problem. Great reads all around if you're interested. (EDIT: I initially attributed the schooling to Psychochild. Oops. That what I get for not double-checking. Plus I lost a perfectly good Psychochild joke along the way.)


• On Saturday, Tobold made an off-hand comment about the level of polish evident in Allods Online. I had written the game off, completely irrationally, based on the screenshots as well as the voluminous posting by Keen of Keen and Graev. But that comment was enough to get me to download the client (which was quick and easy) and try out the beta. Boy howdy! Polish is right. I rolled up a League scout and was immediately struck by the storytelling in the starter zone. It's still an MMO, but they do a good job of telling a story so far. If I have a problem with the game, it's that they are handing out experience points like candy since it's the end of the closed beta. I'm going to spoil myself if I keep playing before the game goes live.


• Finally, I've been playing League of Legends here and there. First time I've ever played a DotA-style game and I'm enjoying it. Somehow I've got a positive Win-Loss ratio. Beginner's luck, I suppose. I'm not going to talk about my Kill-Death ratio, though. A full post is impending.


• Happy Monday, everyone. Just remember, it only lasts twenty-four hours.

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