Recorded In Traffic 3-18-15

Happy "B" lated St. Patricks day to all my Irish wanna B's out there. Not much of an episode this week but just wanted to get something out there so decided to record myself while crawling in a lot of traffic on the 287. The end result is the recording below where I discuss what I'm playing (mostly FF A Realm Reborn) and what I've watched over the last week or so (the last hobbit movie, and Snowpiercer).

The Hobbit Kingdoms of Middle Earth

Okay so this is a review for a game I've been playing for a while on my Android phone called The Hobbit kingdoms of Middle Earth, the game is also available on IOS devices as well. Its an online strategy based game set in Middle Earth. When you first start your giving the chance to choose either Elf or Dwarf but other than cosmetically I don't see any difference or any advantage in choosing either side.

Being a bit on the tall and lanky side myself I decided to go with the Elves. When you first begin you go through a tutorial that does a decent job of teaching you the basics. Using the land available you must build farms lumber mills, and other resource gathering buildings in order to help build up your army. Everything is time based. In the beginning it will takes only a few seconds to build up structures and what not but as you level things can take up to a day or more to build, and this is where the game gets you for money. Even though the game can be played completely free spending money gives you time bonuses that can be a little hard to resist. I myself have already put in about $20 so far, but considering I've been playing pretty regularly over the last month and a half that seems like a good value compared to paying $60 for a console game only to be bored of it within a few weeks time.

The game is grid  based, and every player has a city at a specific set of coordinates on this grid. Knowing a persons coordinates allows you to march troops over to attack them, or if they are an ally you can send them supplies or some of your own troops for support when they are in need. Battles take place automatically and the winner is calculated based on the number of troops and different types of troops, I don't know the exact formula, but usually the guy with more numbers and variety wins. You can also build up a defense for you your city using the wall, but they don't seem to be very effective at keeping out any decent army.

One of the more appealing aspects of this game is it's social system, in fact if you do decide to play I highly recommend getting into an alliance (guild) group as early as possible. Not only is it more enjoying to play a game where you can chat with others and ask for advice, but having a group to cover you when your city gets attacked or if you need extra resources can be a huge help. The other day I myself was attacked by a guy who had about twenty thousand troops, he ended up taking over a million gold from my city and some food as well. I sent out a message to all alliance members to get some revenge for me. Not only did my teammates attack the guy, but they stole back way more than what he had taken from me, and sent me a decent amount of the spoils.

Overall this is a very enjoyable mobile game that I find myself constantly returning to throughout the day, as I check on troops, resources, and how my city is coming along. If you have patience the game can be played completely for free, however If you are susceptible to the temptation of micro-transactions in order to speed up things be prepared to spend a few dollars.

Episode Title: 3D Hobbits, Island Adventure, and Where's My HBO?

Episdoe Date: 12/20/12

Had a chance to see the Hobbit last week. Wasn't too happy about it costing $18.50 for a ticket, but guess that's the price you pay for IMAX 3d. Didn't get to see the 48 frames per second version, but that may not be such a bad thing. Overall enjoyed the film, some of the action scenes felt a little bit too cartooney and were heavily reliant on CG, but for the most part the movie did live up to my expectations and look forward to it's sequels.

At the recommendation of someone who does business with the office I work for, as well as being someone I consider a friend I picked up the game Farcry 3 for XBox 360. The reviewers as well as this friend say the best way to describe the game is Skyrim with guns. While Skyrim is a bit heavier with it's RPGness,(is that even a word lol) the analogy is pretty dead on. If you like open world RPG's and first person shooters, this ones a must have.

Where's my HBO? I went to continue watching Game of Thrones season 2 this week only to get the message that I am no longer subscribed to this package. Turns out my girlfriend, who I live with was up one night going through the channels and came upon some adult content on HBO, she was afraid her son who is a teenager might stumble upon this content so decided to cut the cord. Now I have to wait until they make the series available in Feb of 2013, or get my pirate happy friend to get me a copy. Oh well I guess I could wait, probably not worth getting anyone including myself into any trouble, but what's with the year wait from HBO? Allot of other networks make their content available a day later for us to buy and I don't mind paying for content I enjoy.