Thirteen1

Another week has passed which means that DrunkenGamer & Gow have got together and recorded another episode of the Drinky Talky Thingy.

This weeks show may be a little different to the one you heard last week in more than just stories, Drunkengamer took the opportunity to try some new things on the show. Some changes worked, others did not but at least they were tried and can move on.

Now all of our readers will know that each month the DrunkenGamer writes some interesting things for us here at T1. From creating some impressive Drinking games for us, sharing his opinions on some of the latest games and even giving his take on some of the month key news stories.

However the magazine is not the only place he lets his opinions be known, for the last year he has also been sharing his take on the gaming world in podcast form.

Each week with the assistance of his friends, including other members of the T1 team both current and past, he does what he does best – drinking and talking games. The only thing that makes this different to any other occasion is that he records the resulting  banter.

Now you may be asking why this is the first you have heard of it if he has been recording it for a year already? Well there is a simple reason for that, we left it up to him to make the posts and after a few beers he does get rather forgetful. Yeah we probably should not have done that.

Learning a new set of Bloodlines each week can be a daunting task, but that’s where I step in.

I am going to aim to delve into the deeper side of each individual Bloodline as they rotate out, explaining the ins and outs, and to give you all a better understanding of each class.

Bloodline Champions uses a system of 4 main Archetypes; Healer, Melee, Tank and Ranged and within these are the Bloodlines. For the free-to-play each week there are 4 Bloodlines available to play, 1 from each archetype.

This weeks in depth-analysis is going to be on the Ranid Assassin, a melee dps that is just perfect for annoying your opponent, as you stealth and jump around the arena. Though the Ranid doesn’t look that intimidating, if you’re caught in one of the stun openers you better get ready to feel some pain.

Learning a new set of Bloodlines each week can be a daunting task, but that’s where I step in.

I am going to aim to delve into the deeper side of each individual Bloodline as they rotate out, explaining the ins and outs, and to give you all a better understanding of each class.

Bloodline Champions uses a system of 4 main Archetypes; Healer, Melee, Tank and Ranged and within these are the Bloodlines. For the free-to-play each week there are 4 Bloodlines available to play, 1 from each archetype.

This weeks in depth-analysis is going to be on the Guardian, another one of the ‘Bloodlust’ Bloodlines and it falls under the Tank archetype. This class recently had some changes made to it so it is now a lot more viable, and has some great utility. A big heavy hitting tank with some heals thrown in there too make this Bloodline very desirable to play.

Learning a new set of Bloodlines each week can be a daunting task, but that’s where I step in.

I am going to aim to delve into the deeper side of each individual Bloodline as they rotate out, explaining the ins and outs, and to give you all a better understanding of each class.

Bloodline Champions uses a system of 4 main Archetypes; Healer, Melee, Tank and Ranged and within these are the Bloodlines. For the free-to-play each week there are 4 Bloodlines available to play, 1 from each archetype.

This weeks in depth-analysis is going to be on the Nomad, a particularly interesting ranged damage for us to look at, as it has quite different mechanics to the other ranged, making use of boomerangs instead of straight firing projectiles, this can be quite a tricky class to grasp. But once you get the hang of it, you’ll be tearing up the arena.

Learning a new set of Bloodlines each week can be a daunting task, but that’s where I step in.

I am going to aim to delve into the deeper side of each individual Bloodline as they rotate out, explaining the ins and outs, and to give you all a better understanding of each class.

Bloodline Champions uses a system of 4 main Archetypes; Healer, Melee, Tank and Ranged and within these are the Bloodlines. For the free-to-play each week there are 4 Bloodlines available to play, 1 from each archetype.

This weeks in depth-analysis is going to be on the Harbinger, which I have been looking forward to coming into the rotation for quite some time. So naturally I just had to cover Melee this week (a little bit selfish I know but you’ll thank me for it), as I think this class has some really interesting abilities.

Learning a new set of Bloodlines each week can be a daunting task, but that’s where I step in.

I am going to aim to delve into the deeper side of each individual Bloodline as they rotate out, explaining the ins and outs, and to give you all a better understanding of each class.

Bloodline Champions uses a system of 4 main Archetypes; Healer, Melee, Tank and Ranged and within these are the Bloodlines. For the free-to-play each week there are 4 Bloodlines available to play, 1 from each archetype.

We kick off this week with the first of our 4 archetypes: the Healer. And the Bloodline we’re given is going to be the Astronomer, possibly one of my favourite of the healers, as his blend of strong melee attacks and powerful heals make him a healer you don’t want to mess with.

No doubt the the title will cause controversy, but it has to be said. Digital distribution is a great thing, but when retail stores (the latest being HMV) jump on the band wagon, we’re just going to end up with a complete mess of an industry.

HMV have jumped on the digital distribution bandwagon vowing to offer their own in-house digital distribution. This is a retail store embracing technology, something which I applaud them for, but I can’t help but feel a little cynical about the way they’re going about it.

Currently there are a lot of digital content providers around, the most prominent of which, is the Steam platform. Steam is successful for a reason, it was the first to the game, it offers constant updates, a catalogue of games bigger than any retail store and some great social features. It’s evolved from a digital store into an entire platform offering its own social aspects, DRM and anti-cheat methods. Quite frankly, it’s refined, it’s well thought out, and it keeps all of your games safe (presuming of course that they don’t go bust).

The last thing we need now is another digital provider. I’m all for competition, but to compete with Steam you’re going to have to have one hell of a product with a truly fantastic back catalogue. Currently, I don’t see anyone offering anything close. The multitude of digital providers popping up doesn’t seem like a bad idea, but when you consider that big business can mean exclusive titles, we’re going to end up with our game collections spread across the internet like a double rainbow. What does it mean? (sorry for the crap reference) It means that ultimately we’re going to end up with lots of different platform software to play a game, we’re going to end up with games all over the web, we may forget where we bought our games and they’re lost forever.

Worst still, if more and more companies jump on the bandwagon, there won’t be room in the market and some of them may go bust. What happens when the provider goes bust? Bye bye games!

I’m not all against digital distribution, I prefer having a disc, it means my retro stuff will always be with me on and offline, and I like that. But I also have an ever-expanding collection of games on Steam, and I love that too. I just despise people jumping on bandwagons with little to no enthusiasm or imagination, creating just another generic service. HMV, please don’t fall into that trap!

This may come across as naive fanboy-ism, but GT5 finally seems to be close to release and better yet, it looks to be “the ultimate driving simulator”.

Taking a look at some of the released details about the next-gen GT game, it’s hard not to be impressed. All the years of development look well spent, and granted it’s a bit overdue, but with graphics like this and the sheer volume of options, it’s easy to see where the time has been spent.

Not everyone is making a big song and dance over it though, but it is a groundbreaking game in the GT saga. With the addition of damage modelling, GT5 is moving on leaps and bounds from its predecessor. Finally we’ll be able to destroy some of the most beautiful cars in the world and then publish our videos to Youtube… That’s right, Youtube!
GT5 will allow you to post your replays online in both standard and high definition format to show the world your skills. It’s a bit of a gimmick, but with the advent of competetive gaming and 32-player online gameplay it’s sure to be a massive hit.

So that’s 1000+ beautifully crafted cars, 32-player online races, Youtube, damage modelling… what’s left that could possibly make it better?
How about track creation? Oh yes. GT5 will allow users to create their own tracks and upload them for the community to play on, finally we’ll get to see what the gaming community can come up with, no doubt some amazing track designs are already rattling around inside gamers’ heads.

Racing around in posh fancy cars trying not to scuff the paintwork is a tricky task, but what if you just wanted to get back to your racing roots? GT5 offers a go karting mode for some Lewis Hamilton-esque racing.

Still not content with all the awesomeness listed so far? ok, well there’s more. How does 70 circuits spread over 20 tracks, rally stages, Nascar and the Stig sound? That’s right, the Stig, the topgear legend will drive your car around the TopGear test-track. Ok, so it’s you in control, but Stiggy will sit at the wheel as you barrel around the circuit trying to best the rich and famous in your Chevrolet Lacetti.

Ok, so that’s enough promotion for now, but let it be known, come November 2nd, I’ll be taking a week off and not only will I have a new PS3, but I’ll have GT5 and a kick-ass steering wheel too! Oh, and if you don’t believe how stonking it looks, check out the gallery below!

[View with PicLens]

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After helping out the residents of Northshire Abbey, it was time for me to wonder out into the wider world. It was time to head out to Elwynn Forest.

The first person I have to report to is naturally the local marshal, Marshal Dughan.  After talking to him and a few of the other locals in the area I have a few things to be getting on with it. Main thing I learn is that those damn Kobols, that I thought I had dealt with in Northshire, were actually just the tip of the iceberg.

These little buggers are everywhere in Elwynn, but the first lot I am tasked with sorting out is the bunch that have taken over The Fargodeep Mine. The locals don’t want them in there and have a whole pile of stuff they need from within the mine itself.

So given my marching order, I set out with Belyal for a bit of mindless bloodshed.