After seeing the remake of 3:10 to Yuma, I thought of playing a Wild West style video game but didn’t really see anything interesting (if any existed at all in the past 3 years). Red Dead Redemption had advertising but it didn’t really latch onto me until this week (laughably, the week it’s released).
It is instantly a favorite/hate game. The graphics are wonderful, the interactions pretty neat. While combat is kinda fun, the stuff that bugs me are the controls and the reaction of Marston, the protagonist. I haven’t looked at the settings, but I’m sure I can rearrange the controls. The default PS3 controls have aim and fire on the second left trigger and second right trigger respectively. To “enter cover” you press the first right trigger. To enter bullet time mode, or Dead-Eye as its called, you have to be aiming (2nd left trigger) and click down on the right analog stick. It’s all a little cumbersome. With fire being on the second right trigger, it’s easy to fire but also easy to accidentally fire. While bullets seem plentiful enough, I hate wasting them nonetheless.
Dead-Eye is neat even if I haven’t reached the ability to paint targets yet. When you paint targets, you plot in a succession of shots to be executed once you leave Dead-Eye state. This enables a punishment of shots to one target or the awesome show of taking down multiple targets in seconds. What I hate about this mechanic is the Dead-Eye gauge does not retain its state in saves. When you die and reload it’s empty, which is good. But say I make a mistake on some task and want to reload, I lose what amount I accrued. This pisses me off because it’s very easy to make a mistake in this game.
Mistakes I’ve made in the game that resulted in frustration:
Riding off the edge of a cliff because in order to stop the horse, you have to hold down the first right trigger rather than pulling back on the left analog stick.
Assaulting the poor stagecoach driver (a fast travel option in towns and settlements) because the infinitesimal gap between hopping in as a rider or mugging the driver and stealing the coach.
Wanting to wound and incapacitate an enemy by shooting him in the arm but end up registering as killing him.
Killing livestock or even people who are too stupid to get out of the way of a galloping horse (even the first Assassin’s Creed didn’t have this problem).
All of that with only a few hours into the game. Much of that time restarting from old saves. If it weren’t for the retarded “general” AI (which I shouldn’t be surprised, this is Rockstar Games, their GTA series also has horrible AI), clunky control scheme, laggy/idiotic character reaction (when I push the left analog stick to move Marston to the left, I mean for him to move left, not run a few steps forward then left or spin around to his right then run left; same thing goes for horse riding), I’d be in Western heaven. When I’m not fumbling with the controls, gun combat is fun. Duels, the poker mini-game, herding cattle and wrangling horses have been fun. There should be a single button press to view the world map, but it’s minor. I don’t like the way outfits are obtained in this game as I’d rather be able to buy at least some bits and put them on. In safe houses, I’d like to be able to save without moving the time forward six hours (yes, I don’t trust the auto-save checkpoints).
With more time clocked in to it, I hope Red Dead Redemption elevates higher to favorite than sink down to hate.
Posted on May 20, 2010 at 12:13 pm / Filed in Gaming / 0 Comments
I just started leveling a second warrior in World of Warcraft. It was neat leveling a (feral) druid, but if I’m going to melee–and tank–warrior is where it’s at for me. My first warrior was leveled as Arms then Fury once he got to 30. I did a little Protection leveling stint in The Burning Crusade expansion when they launched the changes, but I went back to Fury and leveled to 70, then to 80.
This new warrior, a Draenei female, will be going full Prot leveling. So far it’s been insane. The combination of heirloom gear, Armored to the Teeth talent and Gift of the Naaru racial ability makes my second warrior a juggernaut. Oh and that’s not what is OP. Victory Rush is OP. Give me a pack of mobs within 15 seconds of each other and I’m making rivers of blood. RIVERS OF BLOOD. Now, I’m not saying it’s OP for nerfs, I’m just shocked at how much more fun warrior leveling is nowadays. Back in ’04 – ’05 it was hell. Maybe not the lowest level of hell, but at least second or third. Heirloom gear has a big effect, of course, but having an instant attack before level 40 (Concussion Blow doesn’t count!) is a godsend.
Around the early parts of TBC I tried to level a Draenei paladin as Retribution. I could not solo the quest Ending Their World. Maybe if I tried as Protection and/or had heirloom gear I could have. Being able to do so with this warrior was simply awesome. I don’t think I even bothered to do the quest on my shaman (who’s 45 right now).
Once I hit 30, I’m moving the three points I have in Armored to the Teeth to the Protection tree so I can snag the level -0 abilities, Concussion Blow at 30, Vigilance at 40, Devastate at 50 and (omg) Shockwave at 60. I’m going to miss the Attack Power boost, but I think in terms of damage, the talents I’ll be taking throughout the Prot tree should make up for the loss. Besides, the main reason for having Armored to the Teeth so early is to help soloing. Once I get to 34, I’ll be running with at least a priest (healer). Hopefully, we’ll have another priest (shadow) running with us for most of our leveling.
Let’s rewind a bit, I initially started leveling a druid. It’s neat and definitely different to the plate wearers I’m used to. The versatility is incredible. Bear tanking is somewhat similar to Protection paladin tanking, with one exception. It takes a wee bit to start the rage flow (unless I gather up 5+ mobs), whereas paladins have their mana pool. Obviously at later levels it’s a non-issue, but I’ve been very frustrated because I remembered rage flow not being so immensely hard to start as a warrior. Now, the only difference between my druid and warrior lowbies is the heirloom weapon. They both have heirloom shoulders and chestpiece. So, it’s definitely the different playstyles. I need to be a little patient to get my rawr on with the druid. However, yesterday I was bored of doing dailies and very depressed that the day before, my power went out before I could roll on an upgrade piece for my level 80 hunter. So, I got it in my head to start with a new warrior. I ended up deleting my second hunter (level 49) who wasn’t getting any playtime and sent off my heirloom shoulders and one-handed dps mace heirloom (that my shaman was using, poor guy is weaponless now). Then, I got through one daily on my first warrior to buy the heirloom chestpiece. Voilà! New warrior has gear.
When I started her up, I chose a name from the generator because I was not expecting her to be awesome and only wanted to see how the rage gain would be compared to druid bear and didn’t think I would be all wowed. Thankfully, the name wasn’t Gorgoth or something else hideous because… well, look above. All things combined, I spent the night getting her to 21. I can only imagine how far I would have gotten her if I started earlier in the day. I never thought I’d level another warrior, but there you go. Never say never.
Posted on May 3, 2010 at 11:02 am / Filed in Gaming / 0 Comments
This is a post of endearment and not of resentment, mind. Also, the term “classic-style” means to me that the RPG follows the format of older RPG video games, like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior).
You do not have a quest tracker or ingame journal. The gods help you should you take a break without writing down your current objective.
You can’t see the enemy’s hp level. Shouldn’t the goblin be dead by now?
You must grind to level up before reaching the next area. You better save before venturing forth two screens up, lest you be bested by a slime!
You can’t save just anywhere. So, I really need to go to an inn or church to record my progress? Can’t I just scribble a note on the back of my map?
You must traipse through dungeons basically having only one thing you need. You: “Hello?” Echo: “Hello! Come find good loot guarded by mean monsters!” Echo 2: “Well, you might not find any loot worth writing home about, but there are mean monsters!”
Back when I started playing World of Warcraft, leaving Final Fantasy XI and all that I knew behind, I did a lot of things solo. My first character was a Hunter and it helped quite a bit during my time of leveling alone. I wanted to solo because in FFXI, I couldn’t do much by myself. However, as I played I eventually made friends and by the time my Hunter got close to 60, I was doing quite a bit of dungeon runs with them. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on August 18, 2009 at 12:33 pm / Filed in Gaming / 0 Comments
The latest remake of Final Fantasy IV is on the Nintendo DS and seems to be the best ever. Apparently 3/4 of the story was left out of the original version, some of which have been added to this version. While the story is being expanded and improved, the graphics and cinematic cutscenes brings the story to life. Even though they aren’t PSP quality, they sure are endearing.
Another surprise is the craziness of the boss battles. They have been revamped and are more challenging. I had my reservations and even got frustrated at a couple bosses but, for the most part, it’s been amazingly fun to figure out the strategy for a particular boss. Almost feels like an endgame raid in World of Warcraft, like Molten Core, except without the stress of working with 39 other folks.
Anyway, reviewing Final Fantasy IV isn’t the focus of this post, rather it’s about my taking up Final Fantasy XI again due to playing FFIV. I installed the game last night and went through the process of reactivating my subscription and updating the game client. Tonight, I logged in for the first time in ages… and never left the moghouse. I have to learn the controls all over again. I don’t expect to play FFXI much, but there’s a little spot in me that’s pining to run through the world of Vana’diel once again.
Posted on July 26, 2008 at 1:10 am / Filed in Gaming / 0 Comments
On a whim I purchased the Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and must say, it’s pretty good. I never wanted to get it because I hate the art direction they went with it however, I wanted to play a game that took the Nintendo DS Lite’s capabilities, in terms of controls, to their full extent. Most games I have use either the stylus or the microphone and in a lot of cases only used them to a limited capacity. Not so with the Phantom Hourglass. You use the stylus exclusively in controlling your hero and solve some puzzles using the microphone, which is something that’s surprisingly enjoyable and makes up for the horrible graphics.
Good:
Wonderful control scheme
Able to jot notes on most maps
Puzzles are fun to solve, especially ones involving boss battles
The character animations are surprisingly fluid in contrast to the graphic textures
Nothing’s more amusing than being ripped to shreds by enraged chickens
It’s Legend of Zelda
Bad:
I HATE the graphics (some people may like it, but it’s a direction I’m disappointed in seeing)
While I love the control scheme, it’s a bit awkward to get the hero to tumble
Posted on July 17, 2008 at 5:00 am / Filed in Gaming / 0 Comments
Square Enix is doing a great job in sucking money from me. The latest siphon? Final Fantasy IV remake for the Nintendo DS. While not the first remake of this classic, it seems to be running up for the best. Complete overhaul in both graphics and gameplay tell the story of redemption of a fallen knight in a new light.
Have you pre-ordered your copy? On the fence? Check out the official site and watch the trailers.
Posted on July 15, 2008 at 5:00 am / Filed in Gaming / 0 Comments
One particular game on my distant radar is Mirror’s Edge by DICE. It’s a First Person Action-Adventure game where the main character is a Runner, someone who delivers packages and messages via their own feet. Why not just use FedEx? Well, it seems information is a heavily controlled commodity and many wish to be discreet in their dealings. If you’re intrigued by this concept, check out the wiki site dedicated to the game. Don’t forget to check out the video (mp4 encoded).
Posted on July 8, 2008 at 12:20 am / Filed in Gaming / 0 Comments
Losing myself in Metal Gear Solid 4. Going through my second playthrough. More info to come later as I’d hate to spoil things for people who have yet to beat or buy the game.
Posted on June 16, 2008 at 7:14 pm / Filed in Gaming / 0 Comments
This coming Thursday, June 12, 2008, is the launch date for Metal Gear Solid 4. I had already reserved a copy of the Limited Edition at Gamestop quite some while back and it’s been an bearable wait. I didn’t spend a lot of time fawning over the previews of the game and only recently lost a good chunk of time watching the latest trailer and video advertisements for the ingame PMCs (Private Military Company). From all that I’ve seen, MGS4 seems to take elements from the previous installments and make them better. For example, the cumbersome, and irritating, camouflage mechanic from Metal Gear Solid 3 has been streamlined into the Octocamo, which is an electronic camouflage system that when activated, automatically blends with whatever surface Snake is next to.
Other changes also helps ease gameplay, like allowing Snake to walk/shuffle while crouched. It has always pissed me off when I had Snake crouched in previous games and tried to move, only to find him going into the prone position. But the best part, for me anyway, is the near certainty that MGS4 won’t do the switcheroo on us like what happened in MGS2.
After watching the trailers, I already have some expectations on the quality of the graphics, which isn’t really a good thing, but with the quality that was in the previous games, I have faith that I won’t be disappointed.
Posted on June 8, 2008 at 1:40 am / Filed in Gaming / 0 Comments
Hanging out with some friends was the soft fluffy cake of the night. The icing? Video games. We played TetriNET and while I was far from dominating in the game, I did well enough to survive for a bit. The best thing about TetriNET is its unpredictability where you could be doing well, then suddenly you get swarmed by the other players, jacking up your well thought out tetris with block bombs that blow up your pieces and send them scattering, or the ‘ole switcheroo replacing your neat little stack with their near critical one. The added screaming of anguish is something to relish upon hearing from others and a dreadful thing when it comes from your mouth.
The next game we tried to play was Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds. Unfortunately, we had a few issues on some computers and it took a long time to set up. Then, while we were in the process of playing, our rigs went out of sync and the session crashed. After trying to recover the session, we decided to try another old game we used to play, which was Quake III Arena. Man, did that bring back memories. One of my friends and I would jockey for domination of higher platforms to use our rail guns. Rocket jumping and blowing people up in mid air were all the old encounters. Even shooting our own teammates while they were jumping to get them killed from either a further landing or missing the ground entirely.
The final game I played (I had to leave earlier than the others) was a few rounds of poker. I did okay but still lost as I know nothing of playing poker, other than what combinations there are. I was hoping to give Team Fortress 2 a go with them but only two of us was able to buy it and set it up before game night. Maybe next time?
And for the record, I was the only one on a Mac (with boot camp and Vista, of course).
Last week I picked up the game Mass Effect and it’s been an awesome adventure. I’ve been able to complete the main campaign due to not doing all the side quests. The story is engaging and has its cool moments. The NPC companions you get have their own unique personalities and regularly interact with each other and your character. Their abilities are as varied as their personalities and compliment your character well regardless of the class you’ve chosen.
Speaking of classes, the one I’ve chosen to play at first is the Soldier class. While this class doesn’t have access to Tech (affects weapons, shields and mechanical enemies) or Biotic (similar to Star Wars Force powers) abilities, it’s pretty robust and can lay out some nice damage. It’s the only class that can train in all the weapons used. The weird thing is, even if another class can’t train in, say, assault rifles, they are nevertheless equipped with it and can use them. This confused me at first and I had an NPC use a weapon it could never train to use better, and that lead to quite a few needless deaths.
In combat, there is a cover system but it’s more unwieldy than any other cover system I’ve played with. All that’s needed to take cover, is to press up against a hard surface while you have a weapon drawn, you’ll snap your back against the cover and can move to any side to lean out and shoot. If the cover is low enough, you could also stand up and fire. What’s unwieldy about the cover system? It’s easy to get to cover, whether you want to or not. Also, many enemies tend to rush your position just as often as they try to outflank you and it’s a bit sluggish to get out of cover status so it can get a little frustrating to have enemies pound on you while you wait the second or two for your character to leave cover.
Aside from the weird mechanic that every class is equipped with all weapons, even if they can’t train to maximize their use and the slow cover system that’s not all useful, combat in Mass Effect can be pretty fun. While hit and miss rolls are handled in the background, the fighting has a good real time feel and with the ability issue commands (like attack, advance, take cover, etc.), there’s a neat tactical feel.
Combat’s not the only thing going for Mass Effect. The stories within the game are well created. While you’d expect the main story line to be well done, side missions are also well crafted and provide more information than just “go here, kill this, retrieve that” bland stuff. The graphics and sound are also top notch and with all of this packaged together, Mass Effect is well worth the money and wait as it was ported to the computer. It has great replay value as you can explore different classes and can even restart the campaign with a character that’s already completed it, maintaining his/her weapons and equipment and experience. At the moment, I’m starting over with another Soldier, intent on completing at least 90% of the side quests this time around.
Posted on June 1, 2008 at 6:03 pm / Filed in Gaming / 0 Comments
To those that don’t or have yet to play an MMORPG, like Final Fantasy XI or World of Warcraft, you’re missing out on some fun. While you can spend the holidays with friends and family in meatspace (and really, that’s the best way), you can also spend some time in game with friends and family and “spread the holiday cheer”:http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/12/celebrate-chris.html there.
In World of Warcraft, there are little devices that transforms your character into gnomes wearing festive green or red outfits. You can punk instance bosses for purty green or red santa hats, obtain special items that transforms your mount into a reindeer, craft holiday themed clothing and munch on food stuffs made by players or sold by in game computer characters.
Now why should that replace real life celebrations? It shouldn’t! It’s wonderful little extras that the developers put in for those that want to also party hearty in game. And come Christmas day you can check out certain cities and grab presents! I know I’ll be spending quality time with my family but I’ll also spare some time to visit friends in game and wish them happy holidays, which I couldn’t do normally as nearly all of them reside thousands of miles away (California, Washington, New Zealand!, etc).
Posted on December 24, 2007 at 8:30 am / Filed in Gaming / 0 Comments
The past couple of weeks was mostly spent playing single-player games. Beaten “Heavenly Sword”:http://www.heavenlysword.com/, “Gears of War”:http://www.gamesforwindows.com/gearsofwar/ (for the PC), “Call of Duty 4″:http://www.callofduty.com/ (sp campaign) and just this weekend, “Assassin’s Creed”:http://assassinscreed.uk.ubi.com/experience/.
The lastest game, Assassin’s Creed, was very fun. Having to fish for information about the target and planning the method of attack was enjoyable. While dodging the vengeance of the guards after the kill is challenging and makes you think on your feet as you look for a place to hide, it does get irritating at times. But this irritation is only when traversing the streets. Being able to scale buildings and travel along the rooftops makes the getaway much easier… just don’t make a misstep and fall.
Some people criticizes the deliverance of certain threads of the storyline and I agree with them. Those bits could have been condensed and saved for a good climactic ending instead of stitched between the action resulting in too many breaks in the pace and a pretty poor ending.
I’m sorta looking forward to the movie Hitman, which is based off of the video game series of the same title. In my opinion the storyline of the series isn’t complex and the only really great feature of the game was the freedom of operation for each mission, so Holywood can’t screw this up, right?
Then again, the whole premise of Doom was that a rift to Hell was opened (very straightforward, no twist no turns), whereas in the movie, it was changed to genetic mutation. Very disappointing, especially since I’ve gone through the Doom remake, which provided a better cinematic atmosphere. Out of the two Resident Evil movies I’ve seen (I didn’t see the third, Extinction, yet), only the second one (Apocalypse) was entertaining and that’s only because they had Jill Valentine in it. The first Resident Evil movie could’ve been so much more. It could’ve been a great horror/thriller movie sprinkled with some gun fighting action.
The failures of the recent video game to movie adaptations have me feeling a little discouraged with Hitman, but the trailer (always the trailer!) has sparked my interest.
“Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions”:http://na.square-enix.com/fftactics/ is launching tomorrow. I’ve got it pre-ordered so that’s no problem. The trick would be to acquire the movies, Transformers and 28 Weeks Later. Actually, just Transformers. I don’t think it’d be too hard to get the other movie.
Circuit City is always the best place to get new movie releases, but do I take up lunch hour and scramble to Pearlridge, or do I wait and go through traffic and thus take up time I could be spent driving to Gamestop to pick up my FFT?
I must come up with a solid battle plan.
Speaking of battle plans, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is out and has gotten good reviews. I’m assuming it’s like Battlefield and pretty much completely online with no single-player story to burn through.
It’s always amusing to see what I remember and what I don’t. Well, the stuff I don’t remember I can’t really amuse myself with… or something. But anyway! I remember exactly the two video games that got me hooked on role-playing games; they were “Final Fantasy”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_%28video_game%29 and “Dragon Warrior”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Warrior (aka Dragon Quest).
Were it not for these two titles, I don’t think I would’ve been into role-playing games or even bothered to pick up a fantasy book (“Dragonsong”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey was the first by the way).
So, recently, I went to LA for a small vacation. Besides bringing my usual gadgets, laptop, cell phone and iPod, I also decided to bring a portable game device. Which did I bring? The Nintendo DS. I left my PSP behind.
Sorta like this “comic”:http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=236 describes.
Now I feel bad.
Posted on June 24, 2007 at 2:33 am / Filed in Gaming / 0 Comments
While Final Fantasy XI was a painful, hard learning curve and quite punishing game, it’s also cause of some of my most favorite memories in MMORPG gaming.
For example, this one instance when I was escorting a linkshell (aka guild) mate to the TaruTaru and Mithra city of Windurst. We had to ride a boat from Selbina to Mhaura. Boat rides in FFXI can be dangerous. Sometimes pirates raid the boat and sometimes a big kraken-like monster decides the passengers are good snacks. Because of these dangers, my linkshell mate and I were hanging out in the hold of the boat. While sitting around talking about nothing in particular, a Samurai comes along and sits next to us. He’s in flashy armor and you can tell he’s a veteran of many battles (aka over level 50). We strike up a conversation while other passengers run outside of the hold to fish off the sides of the boat.
As we’re talking, we hear screams and sounds of battle. Pirates!? Oh no! But lo’ it wasn’t the pirates. It was the kraken-like monster. Huge and menacing. The Samurai looks to us and poses the question, “Want to get blood on your hands?” My reply? Being a gung-ho (level 30-ish) Warrior with a massive axe strapped to my back I said, “You have my axe!” My linkshell mate being a Red Mage offered her healing services even though she was dreadful outmatched (in the teens level) by the beast and potentially couldn’t heal our wounds sufficiently. But we brave few decided to do our best.
We rushed out and saw a few of the passengers engaging the foul beast. Both the Samurai and I rushed in slicing and hacking at the thing. The fighting was furious! The kraken-like beast was surrounded and it seemed it was on the way to ruin.
But a blow from one of its remaining tentacles swiped me off my feet and nearly took me to unconciousness were it not for the healing powers of my linkshell mate and another of the passengers. But after collecting my wits, I scanned the battered deck of the ship and saw many had fallen. Only the Samurai and I were in melee. The Samurai unleashed a series of devastating attacks but fell to the beast’s own barrage. Sensing easy kills it headed for my linkshell mate and the other passenger who healed me. In desperation—we were so close to Mhaura!—I yelled at the beast, “Eh, sushi! Come and get some!” If only I could hold out just long enough, we’d reach the safety of Mhaura and the shallow waters would scare off the beast.
My next thought was how comfy the deck of the ship was as the beast gave chase to the remaining two survivors. But, before it could dine on its hearty meal of fallen passengers, we reached the shallows of Mhaura, driving the monster off.
So what became of us brave few? Did the ship’s crew call for medical aid and try to revive us? No! We were shunt off the boat like sacks of potatoes—our bodies piled high at the docks. This was a message to those new passengers, “Don’t try to be heroes.”
As luck would have it, an experienced White Mage came to the docks and revived us. We recovered from our wounds, nodded to each who fought their best and went on our way.
Posted on June 1, 2007 at 9:00 am / Filed in Gaming / 0 Comments
I never got far in MUD games. While they were fun, every single time I’d get out of the newbie yards, I’d die from; a) starvation due to getting lost and being unable to find my way back to town, b) dehydration because I didn’t know how to drink or fill my empty waterskin from a fountain I discovered, c) being humiliated by a rat who kicked my ass. And all this was back before 2000. Sometime in late 2000, a friend of mine recommended a program to me (which I’ve forgotten ). It had a list of all the popular MUD games and provided color coded display, a mapping feature, a list of all commonly used emotes and commands and an easy to see ASCII inventory management system.
I was in heaven. I said goodbye to getting lost and starving to death. I mooned the water fountain after I got my fill of drink. Yes, I was in heaven.
Until I died from a smug rat.
I think I know why many RPG developers have initial quests where you kill rats.
Anyway, fast forward a bit to my exposure to MMORPGs.
Well, maybe not exactly, but if “Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar”:http://www.lotro.com/ continues on its present course, it just might be the “one game to rule them all.”
As someone who has gotten burnt out on Raiding and playing “end game”, LOTRO is a nice change of pace with fresh new content never explored before, wonderful graphics, great music and rich Lore.
“Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Gear_Solid:_Portable_Ops is pretty fun once you get used to the controls. The sound based radar in the game seems to be a nice balance between knowing exactly where enemies are (and what direction they’re facing) and not having any intel.
So far… my only gripe is the sneaking suit. While I hated the camouflage system of Metal Gear Solid 3, I did like the “normal” uniform Snake initially wears. But hey, I can control Snake’s squad mates and they’re in normal battle dress.
The comic book style cutscenes are pretty nifty too.
Posted on April 15, 2007 at 1:13 pm / Filed in Gaming / 0 Comments
). It had a list of all the popular MUD games and provided color coded display, a mapping feature, a list of all commonly used emotes and commands and an easy to see ASCII inventory management system.