I am still actively playing Minecraft, especially on the MaMinecraft server, official server of AAGH. I like custom challenges, so I decided to set myself one tonight. My goal: survive off the land in a random, limited-sized world. I call it my 256-Block Challenge.
I’ve decided to group some stories from this past week into a wrap up article that we’re calling Week Reflection, including Facebook’s acquisition of the Oculus Rift, Guild Wars 2 announcing major system changes, and EverQuest Next Landmark going to closed beta. Let’s take a look at our reflection and see what we see.
One of the first MMOs I reviewed here on AAGH was Free Realms, back in 2009. I have always had something of a soft spot for it and its world, so I am sad to say that Free Realms is closing the evening of March 31st.
While not the most popular of MMOs it was always relaxing to me, a game I could play when I wanted to unwind. You knew what you were getting when you logged in – bright colors, happy creatures and some low-stress gameplay. To help players enjoy the end of Free Realms’ road, Sony Online Entertainment has reduced all items in the in-game shop to one Station Credit. If you haven’t played Free Realms it’s obviously too late to start, but if you have fond memories – as I do – now is your last chance to play. I still think that MMO code should be made open source when a game shuts down for good to keep the experience alive for those who continue to enjoy it, but that’s a pipe dream. Farewell, Free Realms, it’s been fun.
The new console generation has begun, and though AAGH lags behind with no PlayStation 4 or Xbox One in its stable yet, it’s still an exciting time to be a gamer – new console launches are always a hive of excitement. There’s one outlier in this next-gen fight though, one that I believe people are misunderstanding: Nintendo. I keep reading how Nintendo needs to step up to win this latest console race. People have their varying opinions on how Nintendo can or can’t beat Sony and Microsoft’s latest offerings. I think mine is pretty simple: they don’t have to.
UPDATE: And it’s over! Thanks for everyone who showed up and donated! You can always still donate here.
Technical issues forced us off tonight, we’ll be back at 10 AM ET Sunday. Be there!
This Saturday, November 2nd, join us for a gaming marathon for Extra Life, raising money for Children’s Miracle Hospital Networks. We’ll be raising money for Akron Children’s Hospital in particular, a hospital that’s done allot over the years not only for the Akron area in general, but also for Will and myself personally, as well as our families.
Valve had been teasing new announcements this week, and the first dropped yesterday: SteamOS, a Valve-developed, Linux-based operating system designed for the TV and the living room. Does it come across as Valve moving away from Steam as we know it, or is this just another pillar for PC gaming to stand tall on?
With EA Sports planning to bring back NBA Live this year (unless they don’t) to go head-to-head with NBA 2K14, we’re going to take a look at some personal favorite NBA games throughout the years. The only stipulation: the games have to be (more or less) sims, so no NBA Jam or Arch Rivals. Let’s run down our Top 5. Remember, these aren’t the necessarily best ever or most popular ever, just our opinion.
Life’s not always a beach. This is one of those times, as content is slower than usual here on All Around Gaming Hub. Without a key game to review or preview, let’s take a drastic approach: we’ll make our own game.
Update: On November 5th, 2013, after countless hours of work, this game was actually finished and published to the world. You can find out more here.