Raycroft to the rescue!

I watched the last period of the Vancouver Canucks versus Toronto Maple Leafs game and have to say I am very glad the Canucks decided to resign the Sedin twins.  I think the best story of the game though has to be Andrew Raycroft coming back to Toronto and getting the win.  This is the team that bought him out 2 years ago (and are still paying him).  He prevented the Leafs from increasing their three goal lead and got rewarded with a come from behind 5-3 win.  On a side note it’s nice to see the former Frontenac in the spot light from time to time.  My home town hockey team seems to have more hard times then good recently, but heres hoping it turns around soon.

The people you meet….

It’s amazing who you happen to run in to just messing around trying to find a group in the Dunes.  I got invited to join a Dunes group by a character named Zilzo a few days back.  While taking a break in the action I asked if anyone was looking forward to Final Fantasy XIV and most of them were.  In Zilzo’s cast he has gathered tons of information to created the website FFXIVbase.com.  It looks like a great community site with lots of articles, information and forums for discussions.  If you are looking forward to Final Fantasy XIV I think you should check it out.

I want to be Canada’s Worst Driver!

Well not really.  The Discovery Channel has shown Canada’s Worst Driver for 5 seasons now and I love the show.  I started watching it at the start of season 4 and was amazed at the courses the drivers got put through.  They selected a great host in Andrew Younghusband and pick drivers that have interesting and unique personalities.  The reason I want to be Canada’s worst driver is to try my hand at doing the courses.  I am a good drive (so would never qualify for the show) and think the mazes and trials the drivers get put through would even test my limits, but I would love to try!!  Take a look at the show for yourself at The Discovery Channel and tell me what you think.

Final Fantasy on your iPhone!!

I heard some great news while watching IGN.com’s Daily Fix Video Podcast, Final Fantasy is coming to your iPhone (or in my case iTouch).  As a Square addict this is great news because Final Fantasy is one of my favorite games of all time.  From what I have read Square Enix will be releasing both Final Fantasy I and II for the iPhone in the future but no release date has been announced.  There is not a lot of information out yet but keep an eye on these sites for updates:

Square Enix DLG

Square Enix DLG Facebook page

FFXIV Podcast: Aetheryte Radio

I just listened to the new Aetheryte Radio: Beta and more! podcast (the official podcast of Eorzeapedia). The hosts pack the episodes full of interesting and entertaining discussions.  The topics range from the latest news to what they think Square Enix should do to improve the game over FFXI.  It’s a great podcast, and if your looking forward to FFXIV like I am you give it a listen.

Dunes Party, Final Fantasy XI Style

On Wednesday night I sat down for an extended gaming session (about 5 hours).  My goal for the evening was to level Gutvik up as high as I could soloing in La Theine Plateau or if I got lucky get a group invite to hunt in the Valkurm Dunes.

The first thing I did after logging on was to update most of my equipment to take on the new areas I planed to explore.  Being limited in the cash department I price shopped for my armor and turned in some conquest points for a nice pair of boots.  Thinking ahead I also picked up my Red Mage spells for level 12 (Aquaveil) and 13 (Slow) hoping to achieve at least that amount of success while wandering around the Plateau.

I traveled to the La Theine Plateau and started doing the solo kill quests  (I forget the name of the book that you get them from).  Over the next 2 hours I explored and hunting all over the beautiful Plateau.  It was a fun experience in which I managed to hit level 13 and complete 3 quests.

Just as I was finishing off the third quest in La Theine Plateau I got a tell wondering if I wanted to join a party in the Valkurm Dunes.  Needless to say I accepted and headed off to join them.  I advised them that I had never been to the Dunes and they were cool with that and had an escort waiting to lead me to where the group was hunting.  Little did I know my low level was what this group was looking for so they could sync down to it and generate good experience for everyone.  Over the next 2 hours we fought enemy after enemy while having a great time just chatting.  For my first group in-game I would like to thank Sin, Lindwurm, Inoue, Muzy and Auenkiss for a great evening of xp grinding.  When we decided to call it quits I had just hit level 15 and the time was getting close to 4am 🙂

Overall I had a great night both soloing and partying!  There were many discussions like is it Pop or Soda, what comedy should a Linkshell mate watch and lots of other off the wall topics.  I am starting to think instead of trying all those other MMO’s in the past few years I should have tried this one again a lot sooner.

One Week of FFXI

I have logged about 12 hours now in Final Fantasy XI and am really enjoying it.  Most of my time has been playing solo, hunting in West Ronfaure with a minor excursion into La Theine Plateau (where some rabbits easily killed me).

So far I really like the game, it’s a nice change of pace from all the crazy button mashing MMO`s.  This one plays more like a turn based RPG where you select an option from an action menu.  I am currently playing a Red Mage and just hit level 10.  I enjoy the versility of the this class, I have to ability to heal, cast damage spells and use bladed weapons!

The ability to change your jobs is a huge advantage in my mind for this game.  It offers you the chance to try classes without having to delete your character if you don`t like them, instead you just head to your Mog House and switch to another job.  I also like the auction house set up in FFXI.  There are 2 key reasons:

1. I like are the fact it shows all the items that can be purchased even if no one is currently selling it, and

2. You can check what the item has been previously sold for.  You can see the past 10 sales for the item which is great for new players to make sure you don`t over pay or put items up for a lot less than they are worth.

Since this MMO can be played on a console (I am playing it on my PC), I went out and bought a Gamepad.  I plan to play FFXIV on the PS3 so I decided to see how Square set up FFXI for the Xbox 360 and PS2.  After playing around with the setting for about half an hour I finally had it set the way I though would work best for me and spent about an hour playing and really enjoyed it.  Being able to use the two analog sticks for movement and camera is a very nice.

Overall I am really enjoying my time in Final Fantasy XI and I have just cracked the surface.  I still need to unlock the Sub Job option that lets you partly combine two classes and I hope to open the Dragoon class.  I see myself enjoying this game for the next few months at least.  If you are looking to try a different style MMO that is well polished look Gutvik up on the Asura server.

Going Old School before FFXIV arrives

After reading up on much of what was released for Final Fantasy XIV, I saw an interesting post on Eorzeapedia talking about tying Final Fantasy XI before XIV comes out.  This idea intrigued me and since FFXIV is still months away (unless you are lucky and get a beta key), I liked the sound of this idea.

I decided to cancel my EQ2 account, it’s a very fun game but I just was not enjoying the PvP server.  Another reason is that I had high level toon so most of what I was doing I have done before. I do admit that I have bought FFXI before was well (twice in fact) but never made the commitment to it that it requires.

So far I have logged about 7 hours of gameplay.  Gutvik is currently a level 7 Red Mage with her sights set on being a Dragoon.  I do admit the graphics do look a little dated (this game is 8ish years old), but I am really enjoying myself.  The game is not your typical MMO for a combat stand point.  You don’t use your number keys to do specific action but instead level up your skills with a weapon type tp gain different attacks.  Magic works in basically the same way allowing you to get better at your craft the more you use it.

I am looking forward to see more of what this game has to offer.  I hope to join the LinkShell that Sachmo started on the Asura server and start enjoying the group experience that makes MMO’s so much fun.

Look us up if you are interested!

Three cheers for 2010!

Well I have to admit I am looking forward to this new year more than most. I would have to say that 2009 was probably the worst year of my life and I am glad 2010 has finally come. There are a lot of good things to look forward to in the new year and I though I would share 3 of my hopes for 2010:

3. The Olympics: I am Canadian and hope my country win its fair share of metals. More importantly, I just hope this is great celebration for sports and a bright spot in these tough times.

2. Final Fantasy XIII, and XIV: I am looking forward to Square Enix’s flagship title to hit the PS3. I have been a Square addict for the better part of my gaming life and cannot wait to see what innovative stuff they do on the next generation consoles.

1. (by a far margin) A healthy birth for my wife and child. This will be a bitter-sweet moment on or around June 24th. The reason why 2009 was so bad is it that my wife and I had our son born on April 22 as a still birth. Alexander will always be in our heats but we dearly wish he was here with us now.

So three cheers for 2010, they say it’s always darkest before the dawn. I for one cannot wait to see some light.

Best wishes to everyone in this new year, may your hopes and dreams come true!!