I’ll be getting back into action with my own column soon, but for now I wanted to bring you highlights from World of Warcraft’s fantastic new expansion, Mists of Pandaria, which released on September 25th. You might recall that when Blizzard released news about this expansion there were many who thought it was an offensive joke, and I was certainly at the head of that crowd. With ten months of... 

We’ve gotten a release date for World of Warcraft’s latest expansion (September 25th) and we’ve gotten a date for the pre-expansion release (August 28th), but for many people today was the day they were looking forward to. Today, Blizzard released the lead-in cinematic for Mists of Pandaria, the upcoming expansion, and it is awesome. As we expected, the Mists cinematic focuses on introducing... 

I’ve been absent from my column for a few months due to the winding down of guild activity (and the absolute lack of anything remotely resembling conflict) at the end of the Cataclysm expansion. However, I haven’t left WoW and will be back to my regularly scheduled programming around here when Mists of Pandaria is imminent. In the meantime, Michael and I have been distracting... 

Children’s Week is over with, thankfully, and I can happily say I earned the achievement on two more characters, for a total of six Patrons on my account. Of course, it’s recently come to light that the account-wide achievements mounts will afford the violet proto-drake (and the flight mastery it bequeaths) to all characters on an account – or at least that’s how things currently work on... 

Since I’m editorializing today, I might as well speak up on World of Warcraft matters, especially since our “regular” WoW columns have gone into hibernation (don’t worry, Confessions of a Guild Leader and Raids of Warcraft will both be back when the pandas arrive, if not sooner). While we’re in between expansions it’s a good time for reflection. I do want to take a look at the good and... 

We all need a break from WoW sometimes, whether it’s to focus on work or school or kids or because of boredom; everyone needs to ease off WoW responsibilities occasionally. If you’re a guild leader, however, there’s a lot more to consider when taking a break than just letting your account lie idle for awhile. Last year there was a guild on my server that suffered the total loss of their guild... 

There are a decent amount of hardcore gamers who believe Final Fantasy XIII was the weakest game SquareEnix made in the lifetime of all Final Fantasy.  I don’t follow this logic since I think SquareEnix took a different route in telling and outlining a story in the Final Fantasy realm while creating an enjoyable, albeit linear, game experience.  I will agree Final Fantasy XIII is more movie-oriented... 

Guild leadership is a serious job. And I do mean “job.” For all that World of Warcraft is a game, taking on the role of guild leader can be just as daunting as acting as CEO for any respectable business. You’ll put in long hours, listen to a lot of grievances, and ultimately have to make numerous tough decisions that can ultimately change the face of the entire organization. Yet, when all is... 

Commander Shephard’s back, and this time it’s up to you to save not only the Earth, but the entire galaxy. I played Mass Effect 1 and 2 on the PS3, so downloading and playing the demo on the 360 meant I didn’t get to import my character, which I believe is one of the many cool and unique features found in the Mass Effect framework.  The demo gives the player a chance to play two different... 

Last night Michael and I finally gave in and went to LFR on alts. One of our guildies, a man I have grown rather fond of in the past few months, convinced me that it was worth the amusement to attend – specifically if we all went together and there was maybe some alcohol involved. “This isn’t serious raiding,” he assured me, “It’s just so ridiculous that you have to experience it.”...