SOUND THE HORN: My top 5 MMORPG's

Hello everyone today I wanted to run my top 5 favorite MMORPG's or Massively Mulitplayer Online Role-playing Games by you and why I like them. I think the biggest appeal is the ability to take on a character that you would like to be, sort of like and online D&D feeling and the bonus is you can play with your friends no matter where they are in the world. We ride!

5. Final Fantasy XIV Online

Final Fantasy XIV Online was squares second attempt to take the final fantasy franchise online and this one is in my opinion the better of the two. Its world was rich and alive and seemed a lot more like the final fantasy settings that most of the fans loved while at the same time introducing new elements. The game however was not recieved well by the masses and though I enjoyed it, it fines a low number on my list due to the fact that my core group of friends just were not interested in playing it. Oh well, can't win em all. The game is currently set for a reboot titled "A Realm Reborn" Here's to hoping.

4.Lord of the Rings Online

Lord of the Rings Online was a really fun game, it had everything a fan of the series could want: Hobbits, wizards, rings of power, evil trying to harm you at every turn, as well as opportunities to interact with the characters from the stories. You could adventure and quest you could even farm your own pipe weed that would have different smoking animations when used it was a BLAST...at first...unfortunately this all gets kind of boring after awhile. The quests are repetitive and if you don't have a full group some of them are damn near impossible. The one really fun thing I did enjoy was role-playing at the inns. this is were you would talk and behave as if you were that character. This however was not enough to keep there long term. I would also like to note the housing system where you can your friends could buy houses on the same street and decorate them however you saw fit! while this was really cool and even added an element to the game of going questing just to decorate your house with swag, the brutal housing costs made it hard to keep your house unless you were more then just a casual gamer. If you are interested though the game as gone free to play which means it doesnt cost anything to download and there is no monthly subscription fee unless you want "Premium content."

3.World of Warcraft

What can I say about this game? Its the big daddy, the MMO by which all others are measured which has caused a slew of copycats that could never seem to recapture the magic. "So Chace, why isnt this game number one on your list?" you might ask. Well here's the thing. I have such fond memories of this game, my brother Nick, (getgib.blogspot.com)our cousins and I played this game with such joy it was awesome to get together start a guild and conquer the world of Azeroth together. Late night Lan parties and all nighters (sometimes all weekenders) it truly created some of my fondest memories because it brought us closer together. Now that being said WOW is expensive and it has a subscription fee and the game devolves into a never endng grind of constant raiding so you could get gear...to do more raiding. The sense of adventure was gone for me and while I stuck around for the first 3 expansions I knew it was time for me to hang up my helmet when the decided to go Kung fo panda. From what I understand the game is free to play now with some limitations if you interested i would definitely recommend checking it out as it was a very ground breaking game.

2. Guild Wars 2

This game is awesome and is the one I am currently playing. Once again we have a game which has a special place in my heart because the first Guild Wars was the first MMO I played with my Bro and cousins we loved that game and we love this one. The world is fresh and the story is compeling giving every player their own personal story to play through as the game progresses while introducing a fully voice acted world which is truly impressive. The combat system is a blast and so far I haven't gotten bored at all with it, the only draw back these days is finding time to play together lol. One of my favorite aspects of the guild wars series is that once you buy the game there is not monthly fee!

1. Age of Conan

If you don't know by now, yes I love Conan the Barbarian so when this game was announced I proceeded to immediately cum in my pants. This game is the shit I cant say it enough, and although I might be biased enough of my friends have told me they liked for me to know its not just me. First things first, this game is very adult oriented as any true Conan game should be, they get the world spot on staying true to the stories of Robert E. Howard and immersing the player into the Hyborian Age. The characters look amazing, the landscapes are  beautiful and the combat system is one of the most innovative Ive ever seen in any game allowing you to perform fatalities that other players can witness as well. The Lore and stories are amazing as they have the rich history of the Conan stories to work from. In the game you play in a world where Conan is the king of Aquilonia the capital city in the world. and are carving out your own legend. The only real problem I had with this game was that it is very graphic heavy and you need a fairly good rig to even pretend you can run it. While this was not an issue for me, a lot of my friends and family could not run it so i often found myself playing alone and while the game is very solo-able there were times I wish I could play it with other people.
This game is also now free to play for the basic game, if your PC can handle it, you'd have to be crazy not to try it.

Until next time boys and girls, don't forget turn in those quests.

SOUND THE HORN: Top 5 RPG video game intros!

By now you may know that I love me some RPG video games, and one of my favorite things is when the opening to the game be it the music or what have you gets you pumped to play the game. So Here is my top 5 RPG video game intros.

5. Wild Arms (PSX released 1996 by Media Vision)

Its simple but somthing about it gets my jacked to go and fight the forces of evil, plus the animation is fantastic. The game itself is also very good based on a future where guns are very rare and considered magical.

4. Final Fantasy Tactics (PSX released by square 1997)

Final Fantasy tactics is my opinion the greatest turn based strategy/RPG ever made. The rich story combined with the incredible jobs system and intense combat made it a legend in my eyes. If you haven't played this yet, I don't know what your doing with your life.

3. Deadly Towers (NES released by Lenar 1986)

I included the box art here because I remember when I was little I thought it was the coolest thing ever, combine that with the awesome music that accompanied the intro story and I was in heaven. To be fair here though this game is a bastard, it has the NES rep equivalent that dark souls has for difficulty with none of the redeeming qualities.

2.Chrono Trigger (PSX port released by Square 1999)

Chrono Trigger is one of the best RPG's ever made by those warlocks and story telling masters at Square Enix. Even though the game was originally released for the SuperNES I chose the intro for the PlayStation  port because it has the amazing animated intro by the same folks that do the Dragon Ball series as well as the art for the Dragon Quest games. This game is awesome, a bunch of random heroes pulled from different time periods banding together to save the time stream? SIGN ME UP!

1. Wizards and Warriors (NES released by Rare 1987)

WIZARDS AND FUCKING WARRIORS! Once again the box art has a huge part to play with this choice but listen to that theme! To me its still one of the best themes Ive ever heard in my life. I have such fond memories of this game when I was little and me and my Pop stayed up all night to beat it. The game is awesome and still holds up to this day, its a really fun platform rpg game. If you have the means you have to play this it is addictive and a blast to play! Look out for doughnut wizards!

SOUND THE HORN: Top 10 fantasy swords.

Just thought I would do a top ten of my favorite swords from works of fantasy. If I missed something you like feel free to comment and I might just do a readers follow up.

10. The Sword of Eddard Stark ( A game of Thrones )

 What is there to say about this sword, its amazing its simple, beautiful and horrifyingly large, one could debate if a sword that large would be effective in battle but do you really want to test the son of a bitch that can swing it?

9. The Father's Sword (Original Conan the Barbarian Movie.)

Some people might say they like the Aqualonion sword from the film but I think this one is beautiful, it just looks like a barbarians sword. I do however want to point out that in the books Conan doesn't have a special sword, any sword will do and he has no attachment to the weapons he uses.

8. Cloud's Buster Sword (Final Fantasy VII)

This one has a special place in my heart because it solidified my love for the RPG genre and I mean come on look at it. It takes some balls to bring a sword to a gun fight...but it helps if you can hide your entire body behind the sword.

7. The Sword of Omens ( Original Thundercats Cartoon)

Thundercats HOOOOOO! This was another bad ass sword, Not only was it telescopic allowing for it to be carried as a dagger and then transforming into a full sized sword, but it also granted the ability to see vast distances and spy on people TELEPATHICALLY!! not too shabby kitty cat.

6. Frostmourne (World of Warcraft.)

 The frozen blade of a lich king. Nice. Arthus' sword reflected what had happened to his mortal soul and is probably the most iconic weapon from the worlds most popular MMO.

5. The Ebony Blade. ( The Black Knight from Marvel Comics)

I love comics and the Black Knight is one of my favorite characters, every Black Knight has wielded the Ebony Blade. Crafted from a meteorite known as the Startstone by Merlin, the magic sword imbues the wielder with great power, however due to its use to kill so many innocents by a corrupted Black Knight it had become cursed and now slowly drives every black knight to madness.

4. Stormbringer (Elric's sword from the Elric series.)

A dark enchanted blade with the ability to drink the souls of its foes. It is a member of the demon race that took its form as a sword. If you haven't read the Elric books you are missing out!

3. Sting (the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings)

How awesome is Sting, I mean seriously and elvish blade that glows blue when orcs and goblins are around. Old Bilbo uses it to great effect against orcs, goblins and spiders in The Hobbit book. If you havent read it you really should it is a masterpiece but if you too lazy you should at least check out the film.

2. Icingdeath and Twinkle ( The swords of Drizzt Do'Urden)

Icingdeath and Twinkle are the twin scimitars of the dark elf
  Drizzt Do'Urden and despite being kind of fruity sounding they are pretty bad ass and he always has them with him on his adventures kind of like Indiana Jones and his hat. If you haven't read R.A. Salvatore’s Drizzt series do yourself a favor and check it out. Its an interesting story of a dark elf fighting for good when the rest of his kind are quite the opposite.

1.The Master Sword (Legend of Zelda series)

This sword is awesome and has been a boon to many a gamer and fantasy fan alike over the years. This magic sword has gotten Link through many adventures trying to save that frosty princess in his endless quest to get him some of that. Oh and it SHOOTS FUCKING ENGERY BOLTS.
Well done Hyrule...well done.