sâmbătă, 2 iulie 2011

Which Starcraft 2 Guide to Buy?

Will you get scammed buying Starcraft 2 guides? I think this is a question a lot of online players really ask themselves all the time, whether its Starcraft or any other game.
The answer is actually both yes and no. There are a lot of 'scammy' guides out there on the internet that give a bad reputation for the rest of community and then again there is actually no way to regulate or control this nor would it actually sound right, when the internet really advocates freedom of speech to a large extent.
Now, my purpose of this post is to give some clarification as a friend of mine commented the other day that most posts seem rather bias promoting a product or so, maybe due to commission based purchases or the term used 'affiliate marketers' being used in the process. As a result, no one has really answered this question objectively. So what are we looking out for?
The bad guides - There are perhaps a mountain of these lying around, and some even disappear after a certain period of time too and are not hard to spot with their 'hard-sell' techniques. Be extra careful with those that don't even give money-back guarantees as this is usually a norm at present. If the site doesn't even offer this, my advice is not to buy no matter how cheap it might appear to be.
Too many testimonials - I have never given a testimonial nor do I actually take them seriously. I always believed good products don't need testimonials. Now you can debate on this obviously on my 'sweeping statement' but the point I'm trying to make is I don't see myself willing offering myself to go public with my profile photo while praising the product. Do you? That's even worse than putting it on Facebook.
Google around. Often some of these will appear as 'template based' or like copied from another site or even another guide site from another game, and the webpage looks similar in style of writing or even presentation. I could give you an examples here but I rather not quote and degrade others people work as that is not the objective here.
So how to differentiate and know what guides are good? If you would to base on available recommendations online, you will be utterly confused as there are so many contrasting reviews making it difficult to decide and some of the reviews actually written for the reasons above. I would recommend hearing it from someone you actually knows that plays the game, a friend perhaps reason being that this is sometimes personal and someone who knows you might be able to give you a better recommendation. Anyhow, I will attempt to briefly summarize the guides which I thought were decent.
1) Shok Guide - Shok Guide has the most publicity online, probably rated the best of all the guides. There are however no real updates, last updates the past 6 months were perhaps how to beat the Campaign modes? It might be good to know that this site advertises aggressively on Google Ads, I let you be the judge of what you think as this always pops up as a sponsored link. Otherwise, the site is comprehensive and has a nice user interface.
2) Joanna - This was actually one of the earliest sites to come out. Joanna leverages on her reputation in World of Warcraft to sell this guide. To be fair I would say that this guide was decent when Starcraft 2 initially launched in July 2010 but since then no updates and price of guide has dropped to USD9 from a peak of perhaps USD30. The presentation of the site is entirely a single category post style whereby you scroll all the way down, just to give you an idea.
3) Star2Pros - Now, they appear to have quite a impressive sales page as they did a comparison on how their guide was better than others, and gave a lot of promises and guarantees which i believe some are not true. What I didn't like was that despite their guide being rather expensive, it came with a recurring monthly bill that some people might have overlooked and there was no mention on this on the site! Content wise, its subjective, but I didn't appreciate the part of using user comments from gold divisions and below for input as part of their guides. Frankly, i believe they oversold. Their site link is also currently down.
4) Nooby's Starcraft - An interesting site, which is a blog and with a a glossary for Starcraft 2 common information. There is paid content which requires you to be a member but apart from that everything else can be accessed. Updates were Informative and i liked the interface. Content was good and well written but I felt should use more videos instead of just text and screen shots on their strategies. There is no coverage on Campaign modes, how to play with Mods, map editors, etc. Let see if updates do follow.

The Sith Code - How To Become a Sith Lord

With the new Star Wars Online game Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) gearing up for release. It's time to brush up on your Star Wars lore. If you are planning on travelling down the path of the Dark Side you would be well served to know the Sith Code and its meaning. It will serve you well.
The Code of the Sith is little know when compared to the Jedi's own code. It appears to have risen sometime after the Jedi mantra, with many believing it was devised in direct opposition.
The Sith Code
Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.
As the great Sith Oordis once said "The tenets of the Sith are more than just words to be memorized. Learn them, understand them. They will lead you to the true power of the Force; the power of the dark side."
Looking at the structure and lines of the Sith code you can see where the theory "it was created in opposition to the Jedi's version" has credence. "Peace is a lie, there is only passion" directly challenges the Jedi lines "There is no emotion, there is peace" and "There is no passion, there is serenity". The Sith were clearly intent on making a powerful statement, while directly mocking the ideals of the Jedi Order.
What Does The Sith Code Mean?
  • The Code of the Sith teaches its follows that the root of all power is emotion and passion, they are your strength and should be embraced openly.
  • A Sith should rely on no-one but him/herself, only deserving what he or she is powerful enough to take.
  • Nature's law is the "survival of the fittest", a Sith understands this better than no other; conflict is the only real test of an individuals ability and the only way to grow.
  • The Sith Code teaches its disciples to never stop striving for perfection, to break their chains and fulfill their potential to reach ultimate power.
  • A Sith understands the Force is there to serve, it is the true source of power. Draw on the power of the Dark Side, bend it to your whim and let it consume oneself.
To summarise the Sith Code
A Sith's goal is ultimate power, ultimate strength and complete dominion. They should always seek conflict and never miss an opportunity for personal advancement. The path to supremacy means to embrace emotion and let the Dark Side flourish.
Follow the Code of the Sith and victory shall be absolute.

Empires and Allies Invades Facebook

Empires & Allies is the newest of the Zynga and Facebook family of games. The dangerous world of frontiers have made their break through, while farms still grow heavily with crops and breeds of animals. Now is the time for the wars to break out without the mafia and introduce a new world of combat and neutral territories.
Facebook has introduced many new games, but nothing like this one. Zynga has outdone themselves with the new gaming special. Incorporating ideas from prior games, this new battle field brings to life a new understanding to the world of Zynga games.
Taking turns bombing each other isn't the only thing that you can do. Earn reputation, honor, infamy and allies that will help you get through missions. Pay close attention to each of the quests as they come to you. The speed of the game is incredible, but will take your time to manage through every level.
Take cover with your cannons, ground troops, and aircraft warriors as you bomb the enemy to victory. Make sure you have the equipment you need to defend every part of your grounds as well as attacking the evil Kai Tana or Captain Krunsch. Every visit inherits honor, another important asset to gaining greatness in the new Zynga game.
There are many different industries in this new platform that have not been seen in the previous games. Oil refineries, lumber yards, and the traditional farms provide you with the supplies you need to keep your soldiers happy. Collect from these, homes, and government buildings for coins and other items.
Facebook and Zynga are contracted together to give gamers some of the best times in the game systems. Under Zynga, you can find any answers to your questions, or provide help and add me posts to other players.
Get the complete scoop on how to run the game with the tutorial section. During the beginning of the game, you will be lead through the various functions, showing how to build, fight, deploy, and structure the island to the strongest of its capabilities. Each of the defense teams are better at destroying certain enemy objects, so be sure to double check before heading into battle. Once you lose a piece of your soldiers, you will have to replace them with new artillery.
Energy bars in this game are the same as all the others. Without energy, you cannot perform actions on your island. This helps to steer all gamers to where they can equally take part in the game rather than some getting so far ahead they cannot be caught by others. Zynga wants to make sure that all players are treated fairly throughout their time on the different platforms.
Take your toll and make a frame for your name and your island in the newest of the Zynga family, Empires & Allies. Zynga promises you will not be disappointed as you find out who your enemies are, and take the stressors out on explosive gaming action.

How To Get More FarmVille Neighbors And Quickly Dominate The Game

If you've been playing FarmVille for any length of time at all, you've found that it's difficult to progress quickly if you don't have plenty of neighbors. FarmVille, and most of the other Facebook games, are designed that way intentionally. Facebook is a social networking site and they want you to have fun and make lots of new friends while you're there.
But having a lot of Facebook friends isn't the same thing as having a lot of friendly farming neighbors. Your friends can only send you gifts, take on jobs and help with chores if they're also one of your neighbors. And let's face it - one of the most important reasons to have lots of neighbors is because they save you so much of your precious energy when they feed your livestock or harvest your crops or help nurture your ducks.
So how do you get these all-important FarmVille neighbors? Glad you asked! Here are 3 tips that will help you find more neighbors than you can ever possibly have time to visit!
First, go through your Facebook friends list. Some folks have literally hundreds of Facebook friends and never think to invite them to play FarmVille or be one of their neighbors. But the simple fact is, unless you invite all of those friends to be your neighbors they can't be of much help. Tell them how much fun you're having and they'll want to join in, too.
Find more Facebook friends by following links that you find in your FarmVille game stream, links that you find in your friend's news streams, and by using the 'Find More Friends' link on your Facebook page. Don't forget - after you've made them your friend you'll still need to invite them to be your neighbor. So be sure to watch your friend request, quickly approve them and then invite them to join in your little farming community.
Visit forums and blogs where other FarmVille players hang out and leave postings and comments asking for neighbors. Almost everyone who plays the game is in need of another good neighbor and you'll soon have more than you can handle!
Be careful, though. It's hard to keep up when you add too many neighbors at once and your new friends might think you're ignoring them if you don't visit and help out on their farms. Be a good neighbor and don't take on more than you can handle.

Practical CityVille Tips For Beginners

One can learn a lot from online interactive games. It does not only allow you to learn how things work but also allows you to develop a character vital in achieving success. CityVille for example helps you understand how a successful metropolis works. You would be tasked to build a metro out of scratch indulging you to build businesses, produce goods and invite neighbors to do business in your aspiring city. Obtaining a few basic CityVille tips will help you grow your legendary borough into the most interactive town in Facebook.
Engaging in this game would require one to have tons of neighbors. Obviously you can easily complete tasks and level up when someone is willing to support your goals. Invite friends to join the caravan or simply visit the fan page to see who is looking for additional neighbors. Add them as friends and enjoy exchanging gifts with them. You might want to give them a mystery gift or share some goods or coins every now and then to gain their support.
Religiously visit your city every day. Make sure that your crops do not wither or your cargo spoiled. You have to monitor all your efforts to ensure that you do not waste coins. You intend to create funds. You must be good in managing your account or lose money for improvements.
Constantly visit your neighbors. Give them a hand with their tasks. Constantly check for requests and invites. This is a give and take game. The more you give the more possibilities that you receive more gifts and hire more friends to upgrade some community buildings.
Build community buildings to increase population. Build houses to host the population and collect rents. Build businesses to earn more coins. Send request for franchise. This is the fastest way to earn money. Your goal is to improve a raw land into a blooming metropolis. Increasing the source of fund is the fastest way to build a metropolis.
Stocks play an important role in supplying your businesses. Harvest crops. Send out your train. Set your ships to sail. Establish a factory and set a schedule for production. These will help you increase tasks increase your stocks supplying the businesses allowing you to earn more coins for improvements and expansion.
Publish requests. Post it on the fan page. Check updates from your friends. This will help you build the resources you need to complete a goal. Obviously as you progress you would learn that there is more than one way to build a city. You must be creative in attaining attention to secure a good spot. Using cheats and guides would be advisable for those who would like instant result. However you might want to do things from scratch to earn more than just a good position.
These CityVille tips are just basics. You can still modify it when needed. You do have an option of fusing it with other strategies. Play the game and learn more about it.

WoW Macros And Keybindings Addon - Pros And Cons

Looking for a WoW macros and keybindings addon? Before deciding on getting one, you should know a few things. The fact that you want to use these in WoW means that you are ready to become better at the game. Which is something that everyone needs right now as you can't really find noobs in World of Warcraft any more.
In order to compete with the other, more experienced, players in World of Warcraft, you need to start using optimized key binds and working command lines. These two make you a lot more faster and help you maximize your efficiency while still leaving you room to move around as you fight.
Making a good key binding and building proper command lines is hard though. It takes a lot of trial and error to find the combination that really works. Luckily, you can get a WoW addon that has all of that already built for you.
Here are the Pros to why you should use a WoW macros and keybindings addon.
  • You will get the best keybinds that other World of Warcraft players have tested and used for many hours. That way you won't have to go through the same process they have to make your own keybinding.
  • You will not have to build your own macros as the best ones will be available to you. All you will have to do is get used to how they work. Which shouldn't take very long.
  • Everytime you change your spec or your character, you will have the best solutions in WoW ready for you to load and use as you seem fit. Such a guide offers great flexibility for any World of Warcraft player.
  • Such a tool that has macros and key bindings doesn't use much resources. So it will not slow down your game at all. Having a high FPS in World of Warcraft is very important, especially in large fights.
  • Using a World of Warcraft macros and keybindings addon is very easy. You use it just like any other such tool in the game. So there is no need to worry that you will not be able to install it or anything else.
Here are the Cons to why you should think twice before using a World of Warcraft macros and keybindings addon.
  • As I said before, this is an add-on like any other in the game. So it will freeze up sometimes or not load correctly as you start the game. It is pretty annoying but a restart should fix the problem.
  • If you want a really good in-game guide, you will have to pay for it. The free ones out there are really bad and it is really risky to go and download them off some obscure website. I guess paying for something worth-while isn't that bad.
I have been using a macros and key bindings guide in World of Warcraft for some time now and I am loving it. In fact, I couldn't imagine myself playing the game without their help. I can get the most out of any class by simply having my keyboard properly managed. That is the power of a WoW macros and keybindings addon.

Baby Dance Bear

Almost every girl has a plush Teddy bear or at lest they all want to have one - a nice and cute toy. Exactly they have an opportunity to play with one in this game "Baby Dance Bear" - a typical mini-game dress up, where you can choose clothes.
The task is very easy - you can imagine that this is your Teddy bear and you want to dress it up. In this free flash game you can make a complete makeover of this nice toy. Every girl can find something to her taste and make all the wishes come true.
No wonder that just toys bears are very popular among children. Does everybody remember the story of the first Teddy bear? At the beginning of 20th century small toy bears were a success in the USA. Theodor Roosevelt's action, when he felt sorry for a bear cub at hunting, gives a powerful incentive to their mass production. They are very successfully fitted in the trade a brought a great pleasure to their little owners. 
They got a pet name "Teddy". With the development of technologies and material, they became fluffier and more pleasure by touch. Their influence on pop culture is also inestimable - they became main characters of the stories and game industry. Flash games, that always keep abreast, are also didn't remain aside.
Starting with Winnie the Pooh, Paddington bear, Teddy Ruxpin adventure series, Gummi bears cartoons and of course unforgettable Mr. Bin's companion they continue bear toy popularization, which are given as a present by husbands, boyfriends, lovers, friends, girls and boys. Children like playing with them, dressing and decorating their plush friends.
That's why this free flash online game "Baby Dance Bear" was created!
Every girl can choose a toy bear after her heart and choose all the clothes for him. But this mini-game has a surprise - its hero isn't static - he is dancing! Thus Teddy has an opportunity to make happy his owner.
Starting playing this flash dress up game there is no need in using keyboard, all the moves are realized with the help of the mouse. That's why " Baby Dance Bear " is very simple and all the girls, who want to spend their free time will definitely love it!
This mini-game allows to choose one of eight colors, wool and plush, fifteen face expressions, one of thirteens caps, different glasses, ties and other accessories. Also you can choose a place (background), where you want to dress him.
You can save the final picture in jpg format and send to your friends any result or image you got in the end. If you are tired or just want a hint, there is a random choice button, which will help you.
So, this funny and nice dress up game is a good combination of dances, dress up, creating images and style -everything that girls are really fond of. "Baby Dance Baby" is exactly what you need! Have fun