Hearthfire: Bør man købe?

Som I alle muligvis ved på dette tidspunkt, er det nu muligt at købe den seneste udvidelse til Bethesda Softwork's episke eventyr, men bør man anskaffe sig den? Det er det spørgsmål, som spilsiden gameinformer.com har taklet, og jeg tænkte, at jeg også ville dele mine tanker omkring Hearthfire.

Jeg skal skynde mig at være ærlig og sige, at jeg faktisk ikke har udvidelsen selv, og før I afskriver mig som en uvidende tosse, så lad mig fortælle hvofor. Hearthfire virker, for mig i al fald, lidt ligesom Horse Armour udvidelsen til Oblivion: Det var en billig og trist udvidelse. Javist, det så da pænt ud, når man kom ridende igennem Cyrodiil som en anden konge, men var det i virkeligheden pengene værd? JA! På det tidspunkt var det helt klart. Jeg kunne ikke få nok af Oblivion, men efter en række år kan jeg nu også se, at man skal være mere selektiv vedrørende sine valg af DLC.

Hearthfire giver dig mulighed for at købe et hus i Skyrim, og skønt dette kunne være en underholdende tilføjelse og muligvis skænke nogle flere timer til et spil, som i forvejen kræver en investering på over 200 timer, kan jeg ikke se bort fra, at det virker lidt hult. Hvad får man egentlig ud af at købe sit eget hjem? Man kan jo ikke gå online og vise huset til sine venner, og man har kun begrænsede muligheder for at tilpasse og personliggøre huset. Jeg kommer næppe til at købe Hearthfire, idet jeg ikke fornemmer nogen konkret værdi i forhold til historien eller gameplay komme til udtryk. Bethesda Softworks har forhåbentligt noget bedre gemt oppe i ærmet i forhold til DLC, efterhånden som vi nærmer os Skyrim's etårsdag.

English version:

As you all know at this point it is indeed possible to purchase the latest add-on for Bethesda Softwork's epic adventure but should you get it? That is the question that the gaming site gameinformer.com is wrestling with and I thought I'd share my thoughts regarding Hearthfire as well.

I must be honest and say that I haven't got Hearthfire, and before you go ahead and think of me as a ranting ignorant, at least let me explain. Hearthfire feels a bit like the Horse Armour DLC for Oblivion. It was a cheap and kind of a sad add-on, if you ask me. Sure it looked awesome riding through Cyrodiil on horseback but was it worth the money? YES! At least at the time. I couldn't get enough of Oblivion. But years later I have come to realize that one must be more selective regarding available DLC.

Hearthfire gives you the opportunity to create your own home and though this could be entertaining and maybe provide several more hours to a game that already demands 200+ hours to truly appreciate, I have to admit that Hearthfire feels shallow. What is it exactly about this house that makes it worth a purchase? You can't go online and invite your friends over for a party, and the customization options are limited. It is highly unlikely that I'll be getting Hearthfire because I can't see the actual value in terms of story or gameplay. Hopefully Bethesda Softworks will have something better in store for us as we're approaching the one year anniversary for Skyrim.

"We're frustrated by the lack of innovation."

Sådan skulle ordene lyde hos den ikoniske udvikler Valve for tiden, som søger nye talenter til at visualisere og realisere nye og interessante ideer. Valve, som mest er kendt for Steam og Half-Life, har længe været rygtet til at skulle være i gang med en ny spilplatform, og nu lader det altså til, at der er hold i de rygter.

Efter sigende skulle Valve have lavet et jobopslag på hjemmesiden, som ikke blot søger nye talenter men ligeledes giver udtryk for udviklerens frustration over den manglende innovation inden for spilindustrien, og at de nu vil gribe til værks. Den fulde besked skulle have lydt sådan:

"Valve is traditionally a software company. Open platforms like the PC and Mac are important to us, as they enable us and our partners to have a robust and direct relationship with customers. We're frustrated by the lack of innovation in the computer hardware space though, so we're jumping in. Even basic input, the keyboard and mouse, haven't really changed in any meaningful way over the years. There's a real void in the marketplace, and opportunities to create compelling user experiences are being overlooked. Successful candidates are also required to have "6+ years of professional experience shipping world-class, high-tech hardware products."

Går man til gengæld ind på hjemmesiden, hvor citatet skulle være hentet fra, kan man se, at de faktisk ikke siger noget om nogen frustrationer. Faktisk er det slet ikke, hvad Valve egentlig siger! Hvor de øvrige nyhedsider har deres citat fra vides ikke, men et er sikkert: Det er ikke umiddelbart Valves ord. Men er der hold i rygterne? Har Valve ændret deres jobopslag for at fuppe os? For at drille os? Det vides ikke, men mon ikke den kære Gabe Newell har et es eller to i ærmet, som han snart er rede til at afsløre en gang for alle? Indtil videre vil jeg vente på en officiel udmelding fra udvikleren og jeg vil især vente på et bedre bevis end dette.


English version:

Those are the supposed words stated in a job posting at Valve these days. The iconic developer is currently looking for new talents who can both visualize and realize new and interesting ideas, and for quite some time there has been rumors about Valve entering the console wars. It seems that with this job posting there could be some truth to those rumors.

According to the news sites Valve is believed to have made a job posting that states the developer's frustration by the lack of innovation in the gaming industry, and that they are ready to take action. Here you can read the full job posting:

"Valve is traditionally a software company. Open platforms like the PC and Mac are important to us, as they enable us and our partners to have a robust and direct relationship with customers. We're frustrated by the lack of innovation in the computer hardware space though, so we're jumping in. Even basic input, the keyboard and mouse, haven't really changed in any meaningful way over the years. There's a real void in the marketplace, and opportunities to create compelling user experiences are being overlooked. Successful candidates are also required to have "6+ years of professional experience shipping world-class, high-tech hardware products."

However if you go to Valve's website, where the quote is stated to have come from, you'll notice that Valve isn't exactly talking about any frustrations. In fact these aren't even their words at all! Where the other news sites have this quote from is currently unknown to me but one thing is for sure: Valve didn't write this. Or perhaps they did? Did they edit the job posting? Are there any truth to the rumors? Is Valve entering the console race? I don't know for sure but I do believe that Gabe Newell has a thing or two up his sleeve that he'll be revealing once and for all. When the time is right, that is. For now I'll wait for the official announcement or at least for a more substantial proof than this.

Tilbage igen!

Om ikke det er tidlig eftermiddag i det ganske land, og her på Game Wardens er tiden gået hastigt. Men med hvad? Opgaver, arbejde og en velfortjent sommerferie har præget den sidste måned, men dovenskab kan også blive for meget. Det er tids til at skifte til et højere gear!

Der er sket meget inden for den skønne verden af gaming, og personligt har jeg selv gennemgået en mindre forvandling. Hey hey hey, vent lidt! Det er sandt! Hvad kan det være for en forvandling? Har jeg mistet lysten til at være gamer? Har jeg opdaget en verden udenfor? Nah. Jeg er såmænd begyndt at spille mere på min PC end nogensinde før, og jeg har ikke blot dyppet tæerne i dette ocean af nye og interessante spil: Jeg er gået all-in.

Jeg har faktisk prøvet at spille en MMORPG, en RPG, en RTS, en FPS og ikke mindst LoL. Jamen dog, jamen dog! På blot en måned? Det er korrekt! Min august blev brugt på tømmermænd og morskab, men der blev i høj grad også gamet. Jeg fik prøvet Starcraft 2, som jeg desværre ikke blev helt fan af. Ser du, jeg er ikke den store comptetitive gamer. Jeg spiller nemlig for oplevelsens skyld. Jeg elsker at mestre et spil, og jeg elsker at dykke ned i dets mekanikker og blive bedre til dets mange sider, men et spil må ikke kun handle om gameplay. Om strategier. Om taktikker. Det må især ikke handle om, at det "blot" handler om at vinde. Starcraft 2 er et suverænt spil, men dets fokus på konkurrence gør desværre, at det sætter mig af. Jeg kan ikke beholde interessen for et spil, hvor jeg føler, at jeg gør det samme. Det bliver slutteligt substansløst og repetitivt. Magien ved at spille forsvinder, når spillestilen nærmest bliver formularisk. Så lad mig sige det med andre ord: Starcraft 2 er et glimrende spil - et fantastisk spil - hvis man da sætter pris på konkurrenceelementerne i det. Hvis ikke bør man næppe begå samme fejl som jeg ved at købe det. Jeg sætter stor pris på RTS, men Starcraft 2 er lige en tand for competitive.


Af andre spil er jeg begyndt at spille Lord of the Rings: Online, Blacklight: Retribution og League of Legends. Jeg er ret begejstret for både Blacklight og League of Legends, men det er ligesom ved Starcraft 2. Jeg spiller ikke kun for at vinde, så jeg nyder dem i små bidder og gerne med dages afstand for at bevare en vis form for magi, når jeg spiller med vennerne. Men hvor jeg gik galt med Starcraft 2 ved at overdyrke det, sørger jeg nu for, at jeg ikke spiller de andre spil for meget. Det handler om at bevare magien! Jeg kan også godt lide, at spil som League of Legends fokuserer på enkelte karakterer, hvor man kan levele dem op og købe læssevis af udstyr til dem, som har en vis påvirkning på karakteren. Det er muligvis dette element, som gør dem mere interessante at spille, idet hvert spil ikke umiddelbart føles ens. Måske? I sidste ende sørger jeg i al fald for, at jeg ikke spiller dem alt for meget! Lord of the Rings: Online? Lad os bare sige, at det er en god ting, at det spil er gået Free2Play. Det er ok for en kort stund, indtil man opdager, at man ikke længere læser ens quests. Hverken store eller små. Det er ikke en god ting.

Med dette indlæg håber jeg nu at komme til at uploade langt flere i den nærmest fremtid, og jeg ved, at I har lyst til at rive mig en ny bagdel for ikke at være fan af Starcraft 2, men jeg håber stadig på at se jer igen! Fred være med jer, gaming godtfolk!


English version

If it isn't a beautiful day in this country of mine! The time goes by ever more quickly, but what has actually happened? Exams, work and of course vacation has all been vital parts in shaping the last month or two. But I believe it's now time to take it up a notch.

A lot of things has happened in the wonderful world of gaming but I have also had my own personal evolution. What kind of evolution, you ask? Did I lose the will to be a gamer? Did I discover a world outside? Nah. I simply discovered the world of PC gaming. And I didn't just dip my toes in this ocean. I kind of went all in!

In the last month I managed to try out a MMORPG, RPG, RTS, FPS and LoL. My, my, my! My August was spent with hangovers, fun and of course video games. A lot of gaming, actually! I tried out Starcraft 2, but I must admit that I'm not a huge fan. Why? Is it a bad game? Not all! In fact, it's a great game! But not for me. You see, I like to play video games for the experience. For the magic of the story, characters and mythos. I don't want to play a game where I'm only thinking about winning. Thinking about strategies and tactics in order to win. That's not how I roll! I'm simply not a competitive gamer. My joy of winning fades as the magic of gaming is disappearing. Gaming, for me, must never be solely about winning. It simply must not reach that point, but that is exactly what happened with Starcraft 2. It became monotonous. Even formulaic. Playing the same game and not feeling the rush of combat. Doing the same thing over and over. Not caring after a while. Of course the game offers some variety but not enough for me to maintain the magic. But I really must say that if you are a competitive gamer, then you won't find a better game out there to prove your skills, but if you're like me then don't make the mistake like I did. Starcraft 2 isn't for us.

Besides Starcraft 2 I have also checked out Lord of the Rings: Online, Blacklight: Retribution and League of Legends. And I'm actually enjoying playing both Blacklight and League of Legends! Why am I enjoying those games and not Starcraft 2? The answer is quite simple, really: I don't play them very often, and when I do I make sure to quit before it gets monotonous. Also, I like the character progression better in those games than all the base building in Starcraft 2. I think that this focus on a single unit actually makes them more fun but I can't be sure! So for now I simply make sure not to play them too much. What do I think about Lord of the Rings: Online? Oh, how kind of you to ask! Well, to put it rather simple: it's a good thing that this game went free2play. It's fun for a spell but grows old when you find yourself caring less and less about the quest details and story missions. And that's not a good thing!

I hope to be writing even more now that it seems I have returned, and I know that you want to rip me a new behind for not being fan of Starcraft 2, but I do hope to see you again! Peace out, good folks of gaming!