Archive for June, 2012
Sim City is Back!!!
A new Sim City is coming out and it’s got several fans buzzing with excitement. Above is the trailer that was presented at E3 this year and now preordering is available for the highly anticipated game. You have a choice between the normal version and Deluxe version. The difference is actually very significant beside the $20 price tag difference. In the deluxe version players will get a French City Set, German City Set and British City Set. The game is anticipated to be released February 2013.
Now in the game, players are no longer just building things and checking up reviews. There are actual “Sims” that matters. Sims are used to define as a character in the game, which can include homeless people, police lobbyist and more. Each Sim has a unique role in the game and it’s your job to acknowledge them as well as work with them. In the original Sim City games, a city could have areas with commercial area, residential area and industrial areas. The new Sim City have “City Specialization” which affects how your city runs.
This is not a surprise because majority of the games coming out has a multiplayer mode. Players can work with other to build a city and run the city. The most exciting portion is interacting with other player’s cities. You will be able to trade good and more.
Check out some of the in-game footage below:
Utilizing Resources in Starcraft 2
One thing I am noticing that distinguishes a rookie player from a veteran Starcraft 2 player would be the build. Early game, your opening build is very important as well as your ability to utilize resources and build structures that are resourceful. The video above I am compare myself to my ally who didn’t utilize his resources early game while I did.
500 Minerals Rule
Utilizing your resources would include following rules such as never having over 500 minerals at one time within the first 15 minutes of the game. The reason is because you should be building the more structures, more units or just plain expanding. You would notice that in the game above that my ally had over 1000 minerals during the first 7 minutes of the game, which was very frustrating. Comparing the units and the upgrades on the units you would notice that using up your minerals right away helps you in the game.
Expansion by 10 minutes
Now this is really a tough call. Some players don’t expand at all in a game. I don’t recommend it and if you ask any of the NewbCast Gaming crew that plays Starcraft 2, I expand and I expand fast. The purpose of an expansion is to strengthen your income/resources. That is why when you watch some pro games, players will expand right off the bat. It’s one less thing to hold you back, because you don’t have to worry about being limited on what you build. In the game above you will notice that my ally doesn’t expand into late game. By the time he expands I already have 3 bases and am working on a 4th expansion.
Key thing on this too is that I went and took out my opponent’s expansions too. This helped me make sure they were limited on what they can do. Another way that I helped myself in this game was attack their mineral line. Never will I ever stop saying that this is a key tactic. Less to No workers equals a slowed economy which means they can’t be efficient in their build.
Take Out the Strongest
It’s very tempting to take out the weakest link in a team game. Sometimes it’s worth it and sometimes it’s not. If you had to choose between the weakest and the strongest, the strongest is your best bet because they would be slowed down. During the game, I slow the protoss down significantly and then my biggest threat was the terran.
When they came to our base, they were smart and attacked together. My opponents went and took out my expansions, which honestly at that point in the game didn’t do much. The reason is because I had another 3 bases and so it didn’t slow down my economy.
Summary
One thing I would recommend is to replay one of your games. The best are the games that you lose, trust I’ve lost a lot. Turn on the “Resources” tracker and watch your builds and your resources. Keep track of what you’re building and when you ever get close to the 500 mineral block. These are ways you can improve your game.
Diaper Dash Review
Of the several games available on the Dozen Dash game I chose as one of the games to try was Diaper Dash. It seemed like a silly title and maybe very much a game for casual players, particularly mothers.
The story line is about a scientist who works at a kid’s toy company. He gets fired because he picks up a child and they are not suppose to pick up “test subjects”. He ends up going to see Flo, main character from the Diner Dash series. He decides to start up a Daycare.
His daycare includes several inventions and as you try to earn enough money to finish them as well as help him grow his daycare business.
Just like the Diner Dash games there are color coding on customers. There are only 2 colors for this game, pink for girls and blue for boys. The babies don’t like staying in one place too long. They either need to get th
eir diaper changed, get fed, play in the play area, sleep or go see their parents. If the baby is upset because you don’t give them attention they will cry.
The game ends up being pretty entertaining. I tried the endless mode.
Connect with NCG