I spent some time at the end of the Aion open beta checking out the game. I have been itching to try a new online game out, and somehow I just found out about Aion last week.

The game itself installed pretty easy.  NCSoft has a launcher to manage which game to run, download patches for, etc.  So if you have any of their other games I suppose your already part way there.

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I recently was turned onto an adictive little flash game called My Brute.  Others in the CF world were playing with it so I joined the bandwagon.  Bottom line you start off as a low lvl arena fighter, and after some fights with other players you progress in skill and become better gaining skills, strength, etc. You can only fight a few times a day, and you can save your progress.  In addition you can invite others as your pupil, which also helps your progress.  Eventually you can make Clans, and or join them.

What is so interesting game direction wise is that there is actually very little playing.  The actual fighting is just a short movie that you watch.  No action required on your part at all.  It's your theoretical strengths pitted against a friend or stranger.  There also seems to be no way to guide your growth (more agility less strength, getting a pet dog to help you, new weapons, etc).  It all appears random.

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I have very fond memories of playing Super Mario Brothers as a kid.  Great game on all levels.  I just came across this video of a man who lines up bottles filled with water and then has a remote controlled car drive next to them.  The car has some sort of tapping stick so it makes the bottles chime.  Chime out the full theme to Super Mario Brothers that is.  How long did it take I wonder?

http://view.break.com/487616 - Watch more free videos

Any of my blog readers play World of Warcraft?  I was just commenting on another blog about WOW and started thinking about guilds, long term players, real life friends, etc. 

For me playing WOW is more fun when I know the people I am playing with.  My wife, my brother, my friends, etc.  We have a little guild and it has never grown enough for any viable end game content.  None of us are much of raiders (the ones that were have already left), so there isn't a lot of drive to make our guild bigger to participate in the end game content.

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I really should be working on my many projects, but I took tonight off to play with my new game Rock Band.  It arrived a day earlier than expected (ordered last week from amazon), which is always a good thing when it comes to new games.

I ordered the Special Edition, which comes with a drum kit, guitar and microphone.  The setup was easy enough.  The guitar is new and improved.  It looks better than the last one and has buttons to press up and down the neck to make playing feel a bit more authentic.  There are also game controls built in, which makes maneuvering around the menus easier than previous games.

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I took a five month break from WOW.  Just after Burning Crusade was released my wife and I just got tired playing.  We had played since beta and though we had lots of fun, it really just became a grind.  I couldn't care about getting to 70, etc. 

Five months later we decided to give it a try again.  We have a nice setup with two computers next to each other, so we can easily play together.  We also have some friends that are new players, so we can play along with them.  It has been nice so far.

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This is an early review for Lumosity.  Lumosity is a site where one plays short games that are supposed to help with brain function.  There are many different games that test your skills in various ways.  Memory, Speed, etc.  You can test your skills with their games without creating an account, to get a good flavor for how it works though the quick trial only includes 3 of the games.

The games themselves are petty fun.  You get a score and naturally you want to play again to try and beat that score.  My wife and I found ourselves with very different strengths.  She is much much better at the speed math games while I do well with the memory maze games.  Birdwatching was only ok for both of us.  We will play a bit every night for the next month.

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I have very fond memories of Super Mario Brothers when I was a kid.  I spent sooo much money on the game in the arcade and finally got a Nintendo so I could play it at home.  Countless hours of entertainment for me and my friends.

This widget helps bring that fun back.

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Raise your hand if you are excited for Tabula Rasa.  I am very interested in trying the beta.  While not much info is available the videos look compelling.  Apparently you can lock onto targets which aids in action play without the difficulty that many have with first person shooters. 

Richard Garriott is the executive producer.  He made some of my favorite games.  Ultima 4 and 7.  As a kid I dreamed of growing up and having his job.  The fact he is involved tells me there is at least a chance that the game involves more delema style decisions and complex emotional situations as well as a very imersive world.  I am not saying the game will be perfect because he is involved, but I think it is a good sign.

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