Category: WRUP

WRUP: Post-Gamescom

Gamescom is over. I’m personally still catching up on everything that happened while I was in Cologne, but looks like I didn’t miss that much. We’ll also have some of our own Gamescom content coming, some video, some written previews, but no direct ETA yet. One of the first things will be a Mount & Blade 2 special, including a quick overview of its history.

But what’s everybody playing in the meantime?

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WRUP: We Are Not Legion Edition

Did you catch all that news about the new World of Warcraft expansion? Did it feel to you like twelve year old Metzen was running rings around forty+ year old Metzen saying “YOUR GAME NEEDS MORE COOL THINGS?!” No? That was just me? Oh well. Maybe you’re going to play World of Warcraft this weekend, who knows? But this is what Twinstiq is up to: Read more

It’s Friday Night, Do You Know Where Your WRUP Is?

Another Friday, another WRUP, but there have been some exciting changes for Twinstiq, as I'm sure you can guess just from visiting the site to read this. Dr. S did a fantastic job with the new site, and he continues to work on it to improve and update. Bear with us as we make Twinstiq the site we know it can be, the site it will be. In the meantime, check past the break to see what we're doing this weekend, and make sure to tell us what your plans are in the comments below.

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A New WRUPsite

The menu at the top is still a placeholder but the color scheme is final for now (a white and/or orange version is coming in the future)
Changes are coming to Twinstiq. Ok, that sounds more radical than it actually is and the keen observer probably noticed that we are constantly changing anyways (usually for the worse, but let this be a catalyst for positive change). So whats going to change this time?
We get a new site …WOOHOOO, cue the celebratory music and cut it right away… hopefully next week and in a “beta” state, but maybe after Gamescom. I’ve been working on it for quite some time now, without making any real progress, but I finally had my much needed breakthrough.
Once this and the Gamescom stuff is done, I’ll start looking into the News curation. So don’t expect too much on the content front for now, but also don’t worry. All in good time (and when this “beschissene” heatwave is over)But what’s everyone playing?

  • Andrew J Amideo (@Andoro36):  More RB6: Vegas. Maybe some Sonic Racing, if the mood strikes.
  • Billy Colley (@Amuntoth): Picked up WWE 2K15 on Steam for super cheap yesterday, so I'll be playing that. Also, me and Gog support got Shadow of the Horned Rat running finally, so it's going to be a lot of WAAAGH! for me.
  • Cody Hall (@Yoda0VGs): Rocket League, Witcher 3, Rocket League, Witcher 3, then maybe some  RockBand and Rocket League.
  • Dante: Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, TF2 and something else. I finally finished Fire Emblem: Awakening!
  • Greywolfe (@lostwolfe, YouTube): larry 5, patti's going to go and check out reverse biaz.  which, if i remember it rightly, means fiddling with some "backward tracked music."  that's going to be hilarious ;) - kyrandia 1:  the caves are all done.  which means it's time for the  next "random puzzle" - as best as i remember - you brew a thing for zanthia.  i don't remember anything other than the ingredients are totally random.  and lastly, more brawls.  this week's brawl is kind of eh.  if you have lots of cards, you're good.  if you're stuck and just starting out, you're going to get steamrolled.  i think - for this one - it would have been better if blizzard gave people pre-constructed decks.
  • Steve: Enjoying Trove when I can kill the Queue Boss. Might start Bloodborne and be better late than never.
  • Thomas Ortsik (@Dr_Strangethumb): Mostly playing being a decent boyfriend who spends some time with his beloved.

 

I want to WRUP myself in a blanket full of ice cubes

WRUP time and I have no idea what to write about. Maybe something about the heat? (I'm a broken record)
I hate summer. It’s too hot to go out and I can’t play much on my PC, because then it gets even hotter in my flat and I fear my GPU starts to burn.
Thank your version of god for Rocket League, the successor to Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Yes, This Title Is Way Too Long, Battle-Cars. I’ve been addicted to it ever since I gave it a shot. Try it out if you have a PS4 and PS+, it’s free after all. So, that’s probably where I’ll spend my weekend gaming time.

What's everyone else playing?

  • Andrew J Amideo (@Andoro36):  The Golf Club, Rainbow Six: Vegas (for the second time).
  • Billy Colley (@Amuntoth): This weekend I'll be relaxing. Playing some Wolf Among Us, as well as hopefully playing some Chaos Gate!
    Addendum: Shadow of the Horned Rat! Gonna play the SHIT out of that this weekend!
  • Cody Hall (@Yoda0VGs): My gf and I will be enjoying some Mortal Kombat X on the new PS4 as well as more Rocket League!
  • Dante: Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm daily quests, TF2 weekly contracts and I hope I finish Fire Emblem this Sunday.
  • Greywolfe (@lostwolfe, YouTube): leisure suit larry 5, where we deal with the first lady and then move to the next.  kyrandia 1, please send help, i'm in the worst maze, ever.  and more hearthstone brawls.  this week's one is sort of eh.  random decks?  it's pretty lame.  :(
  • John Rausch (@visitzebes): Lost Planet 3?!
  • Thomas Ortsik (@Dr_Strangethumb): Rocket League and maybe some Sins of a Solar Empire - Armada 3 mod with the Twinstiq team
  • Trisha Baumgartner (twitch): Have to work all weekend but I'm looking at persona for my 3ds, if anyone has some other suggestions please tell me!
  • Jimmy Vegas (@JimmyPhantom17): Still working through Tales of Symphonia Chronicles
  • Steve: Going to be working most the weekend while trying to find time for leveling in WoW, FFXIV and Trove (if I can defeat the queue boss).
Picture: Psyonix

Can I Get A WRUP WRUP!?

So there was a bit of a hiccup, but as long as we all agree that this post went up on Friday then everything is going to be fine. I'm sure many of you have noticed that the news posts have ramped down considerably since the last WRUP, but it's a good thing. You can get news regurgitation anywhere, but here on Twinstiq you'll only be getting the finest in pre-digested gaming goodness. Ok, that last sentence didn't turn out like I had wanted, but I'm leaving it for future archaeological study.
So, what's everyone playing over the weekend?

  • Andrew J Amideo (@Andoro36):  A tennis game of one variety or another (in honor of Wimbledon). Also, Fallout 3. *EDITORS NOTE: Make sure you check out Andrews favorite tennis games here*
  • Billy Colley (@Amuntoth): Finishing up the Chroma Squad Review, and hopefully playing and streaming some Fallout 1!
  • Cody Hall (@Yoda0VGs): Playing more Witcher 3 and Rocket League all weekend!
  • Dante: Heathstone, Heroes of the Storm, Fire Emblem and Hatoful Boyfriend.
  • Greywolfe (@lostwolfe, YouTube): Larry 5: we're going to meet the first lady of that particular game. kyrandia: MAZE OF DOOM TIME, OK. more hearthstone brawls! and i really need to pick up final fantasy 7 again, i've been slacking.
  • John Rausch (@visitzebes): Dead Rising 2 and Bionic Commando (the bad one). Also, watch my girlfriend play Batman. I can play Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, or Ninja Gaiden and whatever, no big deal. Try to punch thugs as Batman? I get slaughtered.
  • Thomas Ortsik (@Dr_Strangethumb): Depending on how much time I have over the weekend, probably some Witcher 3 and something on my 3DS. Animal Crossing is slowly building into an actual game ...one month or so after I started playing it.
  • Trisha Baumgartner (twitch): Oh my god I'm going to be going to some resale shops and seeing if I can find any new 3ds deals of older games, 20 bucks can go far if you make it!
  • Trey Valeska (@Trey_Valeska): Square Heroes, TF2, and Duke. Family goes back home after a week.

Good Night WRUP

Phew, that was close. It’s still Friday, at least somewhere in the world. So, WRUP… yeah…WRUP. What should we talk about? Oh, right, quick update on the whole Twinstiq thing. The site will continue, but you will see a dial back in news. We can’t keep up with big sites and it’s just sucking too much energy and time from everyone. There was the idea floating around that we could make news collection posts, which basically consist of headlines and links.
Do you like the idea, or have an alternative? Tell us in the comments.

So, what’s everybody playing over the weekend?

  • Andrew J Amideo (@Andoro36): BioShock Infinite. Riptide GP2.
  • Billy Colley (@Amuntoth): I'll finally have some free time this weekend so I plan to get a few Let's Plays up, a video review, and if I have time after all that I'll play a little bit of Dragonball Xenoverse, which I finally picked up and am thoroughly enjoying.
  • Cody Hall (@Yoda0VGs): If I manage to break free of life's heartless grasp, I will be finishing up Batman: Arkham (We all knew who it is) Knight. And expect another totally nessarilly lengthy review to follow.
  • Dante:Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm and Fire Emblem: Awakening.
  • Greywolfe (@lostwolfe, YouTube): i picked up and am in the throes of playing tengami from the weekly "eye candy" humble bundle.  so far, i'm quite liking it, but the desktop port HAS PROBLEMS[tm] - larry 5 will prroooobbably actually have gameplay, this week.  i'm also coming to a spot in kyrandia that i detest:  the magic altar.  [but then, a lot of that game has very hit and miss qualities] and i'm currently sortakinda enjoying the spider brawl in hearthstone.  we've seen it before, which makes it bad, and the meta's a little face-y, but it's at least a change from mech mage.
  • Jimmy Vegas (@JimmyPhantom17): Dead Rising 3 DLC and if I finish it, some Tales of Symphonia
  • John Rausch (@visitzebes): I might play more Yoshi's New Island. I didn't quite attain my goal last weekend.
  • Thomas Ortsik (@Dr_Strangethumb): Maybe New Game+ Arkham Knight. Could use some more material for a possible upcoming review.
  • Trisha Baumgartner (twitch): Work work, Zug Zug. Finished Saints Row 4, now I'm going to play Gat out of Hell finally
  • Trey Valeska (@Trey_Valeska): Super 3D Noah's Ark.
  • Richard Mitchell (@TheRichardM): Zombicide, God willing.
  • Sam Prell (@SamPrell): Would you know my name? If I saw you in Heavensward?
  • Susan Arendt (@SusanArendt): The Witcher
  • Mike Suszek (@mikesuszek): I'm playing FREEDOM: THE GAME.
  • Anthony John Agnello (@ajohnagnello, Twitch): Cursing the dumb open worldy stuff in Arkham Knight, loving the rest. 243 riddles to face Riddler? All those mines and towers? Shut up, game.

 

Should we WRUP this up?

Let’s abuse the WRUP again for some inStiq information. Well, you probably already noticed that there hasn’t been much going on here. That sucks. Not only from a content perspective, but it also sucks out my personal motivation.
We had a pretty good start, but as things go, people tend to lose interest. Some even on the day they join. Getting someone new into the team, spending quite a bit of time on showing them around and then see them not even posting a single thing is fucking annoying.
As it stands, we could try to get new people onboard again, but I fear that’s like trying to keep the Titanic afloat with a single water bucket and a broken hand. We will do it, and some of you already sent us an application, but I fear we still have to change the ship.

Granted, it’s not all bad. Our core team is able to deliver quality content and we still like each other. No infighting after 4 months of working together is certainly worthy of praise.
I just started an internal discussion about the direction we should take and hopefully we’ll find a find a solution that works for everyone.
So when you write what you are planning to play over the weekend, make sure to mention any ideas you might have.

Here’s what the team and some of our old Joystiq friends will play

  • Andrew J Amideo (@Andoro36): Batman!
  • Billy Colley (@Amuntoth): I'll be playing some Flame Over, as well as working on a few reviews that should be up soon.
  • Cody Hall (@Yoda0VGs): Will be playing Batmobile: Arkham Knight this weekend, slugging through 10~60fps to get a review out sooner than a month after the games release :p
  • Greywolfe (@lostwolfe, YouTube): leisure suit larry 5, in which we will have /way/ more exposition, kyrandia 1, in which i finally track down the saw.  i knew it was somewhere, but it was in the dumbest place imaginable and more hearthstone tavern brawls.  i'm not as crazy about the banana brawl as i was the nef/rag brawl, but eh.  it is what it is [ie:  lots of mages :(] - thinking about playing a jrpg, too, but am terrified of all those "gone forevers" they have.
  • John Rausch (@visitzebes): I'm going to 100% Yoshi's New Island and dip my toes in the PS2 classic SpyFiction
  • Thomas Ortsik (@Dr_Strangethumb): Enjoying Batman: Arkham Knight on my PS4 :p
  • Trisha Baumgartner (twitch): playing some prison architect, along finishing my leveling on my monk in wow! HEY ANYONE NEED A HEALER?
  • Trey Valeska (@Trey_Valeska): Morrowind
  • Richard Mitchell (@TheRichardM): Card Crawl, and lots of it.
  • Sam Prell (@SamPrell): Heavensward!
  • Mike Suszek (@mikesuszek): Been into Zelda: The Minish Cap lately. Also going to some music fests!
  • Susan Arendt (@SusanArendt): Ooo, good choice, Mike. Tales from the Borderlands for me.

State of the Stiq turned WRUP

You might wonder why there is so little news. Well, I (Dr. S) need a little break (E3 reminded me that the best part about gaming is …playing games yourself!) and everyone else on the team is either busy, sick, or too cynical for E3.

This E3 was great on paper, but if you look a bit deeper, it really wasn’t worth the hassle. I could report on all the little news-bits and get crazy in the process, but that would be just doing free PR for the industry. Remember all those previous E3 promises that never really materialized in the way they were presented? Yeah, it will be the same this year.

I will probably be back on Monday, and then we’ll try to uncover some of this year’s E3 lies, give spotlight to some under-promoted news and have a jolly good time overall. In the meantime, I’m sure those of you who are interested in promotional material have some other news sources. (If not, you can visit our friends over at GamesRadar), but I would personally urge you to just relax and play some games. Life is too short for listening to PR speeches ;)

George Weidman from Super Bunnyhop actually released a pretty good video on this topic:

With that out of the way and since it is Friday: What’s everyone playing?

WRUP: Everything Everywhere Extremely Sucks

E3 is right around the corner. MUCH HYPE! …not.
I mostly get excited about new hardware and the folks behind Uplay who shall not be named soured game announcements for me. Fallout is cool and all, but it’s a Bethesda RPG. I want to discover it through playing, not by watching it a year early.
Microsoft probably has nothing that really excites me (bit of irony: I’m sitting in a Halo 5 shirt while writing this), unless they announce a new Viva Pinata or a Steel Battalion that comes with a standalone controller.
Sony doesn’t have much to show besides 3rd party stuff, hinted by the fact that they will skip the Gamescom press conference.
EA will suck, the folks behind Uplay will most definitively suck. So what’s left? Nintendo, the last bastion of hope. Who would have guessed that two years back.
Ok, Bethesda probably has some more cool shit to show besides F4, and we will see some VR games. EA could show more Star Wars and Red Dead Redemption 2 might be a thing. I’m just pissed that I can’t plan my life around this year’s E3, despite now running Twinstiq.
Btw: The E3 Bingo cards are coming soon, so that’s a tradition we keep alive.

Enough text, what is everyone playing pre-E3?

  • Andrew J Amideo (@Andoro36): Will most likely be racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on GRID, whilst watching the real thing on tv.
  • Billy Colley (@Amuntoth): I'll be working this weekend, but if I can find the time I'm going to work on the Chroma Squad review and play some WWE2K15
  • Cody Hall (@Yoda0VGs): I will be taking a short break from the Witcher this weekend to play some much needed rounds of Mortal Kombat with the Girlfriend :D
  • Greywolfe (@lostwolfe, YouTube): quest for glory 2 is done.  just "post-game" stuff left to do [ie:  where i do a thief run, for the most part] - the dig is completed with both endings and limbo is /probably/ going to wind down.  so i have no idea of what i'm playing next.  the big sierra list tells me what sierra game to go for next, but the other two...i'm at a loss :)
  • Jimmy Vegas (@JimmyPhantom17): Slaughtering some zombies in Dead Rising 3
  •  John Rausch (@visitzebes): My days will be filled with ink.
  • Thomas Ortsik (@Dr_Strangethumb): Will play the super fun “let’s work through the weekend” and You Must Build a Boat before falling asleep
  • Trey Valeska (@Trey_Valeska): Taking one more week off from gaming. Christopher Lee/Hammer marathon and maybe a book.
  • Richard Mitchell (@TheRichardM): I'm going to be powering through @TheGeekieAwards games on the way to E3.
  • Sam Prell (@SamPrell): The Oh Crap Can I Actually Make It To My Next Gate game as I head to E3
  • Susan Arendt (@SusanArendt): You Must Build a Boat whilst in the air to LA.
  • Mike Suszek (@mikesuszek): SPLATOON.
  • Anthony John Agnello (@ajohnagnello, Twitch): Probably a little snitchin' while I'm Witchin' & Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure.