Quantcast Ryan Kenward | Vagary.TV

About Author: Ryan Kenward

Website
http://vagary.tv
Description
Ryan is the owner of Vagary.TV and is a writer/editor as well; he formerly hosted the Game Seers podcast for 37 episodes.

Posts by Ryan Kenward

4

PC Review: Illyriad

By
Ryan Kenward
– February 16, 2012Posted in: PC, Reviews

A few months ago I was approached by the community manager of a web based MMO called Illyriad. I had some familiarity with the genre as I fumbled around one for a few weeks some years ago. However, some other player put me out of my misery by attacking my territory and utterly wiping me out. I put my bias aside and gave Illyriad a shot, it turned out to be pretty fun after all.

I started out with a small barren piece of land and a few resources. To describe Illyriad, I would compare it to an MMORTS version of Age of Empires. Naturally, as one would expect the objective is to harvest resources, grow your town, expand, research new technology, fight NPCs found around the map, and have a good time in general.

What I liked most about Illyriad was the ability to casually pop in, set a few buildings, queue some military troops, and research technology. On the other side of this coin, if you want to play Illyriad hardcore you can, but it’s going to cost you. I actually became so enamored with Illyriad for a while that I dumped a few dollars into purchasing prestige.

My primary town in Illyriad

Prestige allows you to instantly complete buildings in your queue (for whatever town you select), increase your resource gathering by 20% for a few days, increase the defenses of your troops, and a few other things. Prestige is handy, considering your upper level buildings can take upwards of 12 hours to a day to complete; the instant complete is a nice feature.

Whether you want to play for free or to pay for content is completely up to the player. I did a mixture of both. It is relatively inexpensive, and it can certainly get you up and running quickly.

Another key factor that helped me progress along were the other players. Amazingly, the players of Illyriad are, for the most part, very nice and willing to help you out. I joined an alliance and was sent multiple resource shipments. Perhaps the kind nature of the player base comes from the fact Illyriad is UK based. In all, the other players are an invaluable resource.

Illyriad has a great niche. It’s a simple and fun game that is easy to keep running in a separate browser tab for most of the day. There is plenty to do and I would suggest that everyone with a few minutes goes and checks it out.

 

http://elgea.illyriad.co.uk/

Pros:

  • Free to play, with pay to play option available.
  • Simple to learn, lots to do.
  • Casual game play makes it a fun background game.
  • Great community.

Cons:

  • The time factor, as you progress things take longer and longer and without prestige, you’re going to be doing a lot of waiting.
  • Did not run well on a mobile phone.

3/5

0

Pilot Episode – The Gaming Chef

By
Ryan Kenward
– December 31, 2011Posted in: Shows, Vagary.TV PIlots

Join Vagary.TV Owner & Chef, Ryan Kenward as he attempts to demystify the art of fine cuisine, and teach some of the tips and tricks to take your home cooked meals to the next level!  In this pilot episode Ryan will demonstrate Chicken Marsala, a recipe he picked up while completing his Culinary Externship prior to graduating Culinary School.

Download Video: MP4


Download

Please leave your feedback!  Are you interested in seeing more of this show?  What would you like to see next?

1

3DS Review: Super Mario 3D Land

By
Ryan Kenward
– November 17, 2011Posted in: Nintendo 3DS, Reviews

Super Mario 3D Land is hands down the best game currently available for the Nintendo 3DS and, in my opinion, is in the running for Game of the Year 2011.  Mario 3D is the 3DS’ long awaited killer app, just in time for the 2011 holiday season.  Bowser is at it once again, taking Princess Peach hostage leaving Mario to save the day.

Super Mario 3D Land blends the best aspects from the 25-year franchise together to create a new yet familiar game.  The tanooki suit from Super Mario Bros 3 (NES) makes a return in Mario 3D Land and is easily the most important power up in the game.  Unfortunately, until you finish the main game and unlock the special levels, it does not function as older gamers may remember. You will not be able to use it to fly, period; you flutter. This instantly becomes insanely useful as you try to delicately land on small platforms and collect the Star Coins that you’ll will need to advance in the game.

Once you complete the main story mode, you will unlock a special mode; it is here where you will find the Statue Suit that works much more similarly to the tanooki suit of SMB3 (minus the flying part still).

There are eight worlds, each with several stages that Mario will need to traverse and conquer in order to save Princess Peach. Each world is beautifully designed and shows off the incredible capabilities the 3DS possesses.  There are some stages where you flat out need 3D turned on so you can solve the three dimensional puzzles; luckily I found it to be the easiest 3DS game on the eyes to date.  The game is just plain fun, although if you allow yourself to get frustrated easily there will be plenty of opportunities to do so.  The game has an overall mellow, but vibrant feeling to it.  The bright colors, cheerful music and just the right amount of challenge will easily hook you in for long gaming sessions.

To make it to the end of any given level, you will need to have cat-like reflexes, precision coordination, a sense of urgency, and attention to detail. Every stage has three Star Coins to be collected; you will be required to have certain amounts in each world to open levels and the end-world castles.  Collecting these coins is no easy feat in some cases, so be prepared to play each level a few times over.

The learning curve for SM3DL is gentle.  If you die five times, you will have a sparkling tanooki suit available to you when you start your next play of the level.  The sparkling suit basically is a combination of an invincibility star and a tanooki suit.  It feels like a cop out, and yes you can still die by falling (which I did more than anything else), but for kids or even if you’re just eager to beat the level, then this is a nice feature.  If you’re really stuck, after the tenth time you die in a level a “P” wing (originally seen in SMB3) will appear that lets you skip to the end of a level.  You obviously won’t be able to pick up coins unless you got some before using it.

Generally speaking, the controls worked well.  I did have some difficulty adapting to the 3D world at times, especially when trying to land on a small or moving platform (even worse, small moving platforms).  I missed… a lot.  I don’t feel like my lack of depth perception in this game can really be blamed on anyone but myself, so this did not hurt my overall opinion of the game.  The game has some great new tunes in the soundtrack, but also goes back to some of the classics from various incarnations of the franchise.  It was nice to have those little trips down memory lane, all the while enjoying a game that feels completely new.

As previously mentioned, when you complete the regular story mode, you will unlock special new worlds.  These eight worlds are similar to the previous eight, but they are considerably more challenging. If you die repeatedly, don’t look for the invincibility tanooki suit or P-Wing to help you out.  Some of the special levels will severely limit your time and will have to race through the levels dodging, smashing, and collecting clocks to give you just a few more seconds to make it through.  Other levels in the special world will be frustrating, but still fun.  After the first special world you will rescue Luigi and from there you may play as either Mario or Luigi.

Super Mario 3D Land also takes advantage of the StreetPass function built into the 3DS.  When you StreetPass other 3DS owners, your game will restock Toad’s house (similar to SMB3 when you could pick a chest for an item from toad), and also reset challenge boxes that can reward you with Star coins.

Super Mario 3D Land is a must buy for Nintendo 3DS owners or those who’ve considered picking the system up.  This fun, yet challenging, adventure is great for any and all gamers.

Pros: Easy learning curve, utterly fun, nostalgic rehash of many great Mario titles
Cons: It should have launched with the 3DS, it would have drastically helped sales.

5*/5

2

XBLA/PSN Review: Burger Time World Tour

By
Ryan Kenward
– November 12, 2011Posted in: PS3, Reviews, Xbox 360

For those that played the original way back in the day, or for anyone who loves a challenging game that will put your reflexes and nerves to the test – Burger Time World Tour is calling you.  World Tour is a refreshing reimagination; you will still be dashing through multi-platform levels jumping and waiting for the right moments to assemble your burgers and move on through the game.  The new levels are designed in a cylindrical layout, which makes the game visually appealing but considerably more frustrating (read: challenging).  The first play through on any given level will not likely yield any amazing high scores or five star ratings;  in order to achieve that, one will need to play each level a few times to get a feel for the patterns and locations of burgers.  Depending on a player’s motivation level, this may lead to many more hours of game time, or frustration that has one just throwing in the towel and pressing on.

For those completely new to Burger Time, the general concept is to run through stages and over the various burger ingredients, which then drop down to the next level.  The end goal is to assemble the burger by running across each ingredient, all the while dodging angry mobile ingredients like jumping pickles, spiraling carrots, stinky cheese and exploding habaneros.  A unique feature to World Tour is the ability to squash these vengeful veggies in between layers of the burger to create unique burgers, for instance if you crush a habanero in a burger you will create the “Southwestern Burger”.  This gives the player more points and comes in handy during boss fights.  The concept of the specialized burgers is very cool, but I couldn’t help but feeling they could have done a little more.  From what I saw there were only a handful of unique burger combinations, and visually (aside from the Southwestern Burger’s flames) – the end results don’t look much different than a normal burger.

There are four different “worlds”; each is inhabited by a rival burger chef and their oversized, blood thirsty, burger eating monsters at the end of each world.  The game starts in America and makes its way through Paris, Mexico and Japan.  Each world introduces new ingredients and changes up the appearance of the ingredients, for example you will see mime peppers in France or sombrero wearing peppers in Mexico.  When it comes to the end of each world there is a boss fighter where you defeat the boss by assembling burgers, which cause damage when consumed (remember the Southwestern Burger?). The boss will be trying to kill you as you build burgers by shooting lazer guided missiles and smashing at the stage, amongst some other techniques.

Burger Time also offers multiplayer options, both online and split screen.  It plays relatively the same as single player except you will compete for scores.  When I played with my wife, she would stand at the bottom and finish assembling the burgers to try to steal points.  Eventually I realized I could just smash her in the burger as she ran through.

Overall, while frustrating at times; Burger Time is a very fun and challenging game.  The quirky cut scenes and enemies keep you just entertained enough to not smash your controller when you get killed by that pickle you didn’t see coming down the ladder at the same time you were trying to go up it.

Pros: Fun, easy learning curve, good multiplayer value
Cons: Confusing spiraling levels at first

4* out of 5

0

Diablo III: Beta, First Impressions

By
Ryan Kenward
– October 17, 2011Posted in: PC/Mac, Previews

For the last two weeks I have been tinkering around in the Diablo 3 beta.  For anyone reading this right now that has not experienced Diablo 1 and 2, you missed out on two epic games.  With the first games being huge, there is a lot at stake by releasing a third chapter in the franchise.  Perhaps that may be why 10 years has passed by since Diablo 2 launched.  The Diablo franchise is the epitome of a hack and slash adventure game in my eyes.  For full disclosure, I was very skeptical upon firing up the beta.

 

It’s not earth shattering news that there are new classes to choose from, which were Wizard (which I picked), Witch Doctor, Monk, Barbarian and Demon Hunter.  The beta begins outside of the gates of New Tristram.  My initial reaction was one of disappointment, after being in development for so many years I expected more.  As I progressed through the beta and made it into some dungeons I realized while the exterior locations were a tad drab, the dungeons actually looked pretty good.  The entire skill/spell system has been revamped, no more carefully picking stats as you level, or finding spell books.  The new system works, although a huge change from the first two games.  The best part of the new system is the ability to be able to go back and make changes, whereas in the first two games once you used a stat point, that was it.  In the case of the wizard, I had a handful of spells to pick through for each skill level.  You can select one and then put them in your toolbar.  This allows for some interesting spell combos, for instance I used an ice blast spell to freeze enemies, then a force push to shatter them.  It was actually pretty cool.

Diablo III - Online with New Battle Combo message

The online multiplayer seemed interesting; you have the ability to make your personal game public or join someone else’s with your character.  I’m not sure what the full functionality will be in the future with this.  That brings us to the part everyone has been raving about.  The auction house that will let players sell items for in game currency or real world currency.  It is yet to be determined if I will be quitting my work at Vagary.TV to sell fancy swords to twelve year old Diablo III addicts in Korea, the concept is interesting.  Only time will tell how successful it will be.  To me, it doesn’t play like an MMO (where I see this system being a huge money maker) — but as we roll into a full build of the game, this opinion may be swayed.  Aside from the previously mentioned points, Diablo III not surprisingly plays very similarly to it’s predecessors. The quest system feels like a polished version of the old.

Diablo III feels like a hit, the beta is fun and it leaves me hungry for more.

0

Vagary.TV Gamer Fan Art Contest

By
Ryan Kenward
– August 14, 2011Posted in: Contests, Vagary.TV

As we posted on our twitter feed a week or so back, we are holding a contest to see who can come up with the coolest video game fan art – we will post the entries as they roll in.  The deadline for this contest will be September 15th, prizes will be awarded to the top 3 pieces.

Submitted by @Nikibaby219
Yoshi by @Hestar69 
ViVi from Final Fantasy IX by @Nikibaby219

Mario Art from @BrianIMdiesel

 

1

NVIDIA 3D Vision & Super Street Fighter® IV Arcade Edition

By
Ryan Kenward
– August 8, 2011Posted in: 3D Gaming, Reviews

A few months ago, Capcom released another incarnation of Street Fighter IV on the PC/PS3 and XBox 360. They also launched Super Street Fighter IV: 3D edition on the 3DS, which I previously reviewed here. If there is one thing that we learned from the 3DS version of the game, 3D works well with Street Fighter. I recently had a chance to check out SSFIV the Arcade Edition on my PC that’s equipped with NVIDIA’s 3D Vision.

The first thing I noticed, was the 3D wasn’t looking too hot; however, there was a solution. You need to have the latest beta drivers from NVIDIA. This makes everything much more polished. (Download NVIDIA Drivers, 280.19 BETA here) Once that was out of the way, I was able to get a little further into the game. One issue that I wish would be resolved is the lack of 3D menus, health meters, and combo meters. The 2D on 3D can be a little hard on the eyes. If you can learn to ignore it then you will find yourself immersed in a beautiful 3D environment.

Character models, backgrounds, and special moves look awesome in 3D. The pre-fight cut scenes are also in 3D but the story cut scenes in arcade mode are not. A very big difference between the 3DS version and playing with 3D vision are the backgrounds during the fights. On the 3DS, the characters and other objects in the background do not move at all which looks odd, to say the least. In the PC version with 3D vision, the levels come to life and actually visually enhance the game a tremendous amount – much more than they do in 2D.

Overall, the parts that are in 3D are another fantastic example of the power 3D vision has; the parts in 2D can result in some unfortunate eye strain. Hopefully these issues are addressed in future patches. One thing that remained a constant truth for me was, whether it’s 2D or 3D, I really suck at Street Fighter against human opponents.

Ryan – Over and out!

3D Vision equipment provided for Vagary.TV by NVIDIA, to find out the system requirements to run 3D vision please check this link 3D Vision Requirements.

Review System Specs
Processor: Intel i7 960 Over clocked @ 3.53 GHz
Memory: 8 GB Corsair LP DDR3 1600
GPU: eVGA GTX 570 (Provided by NVIDIA) Over clocked System Core: 875 MHz / Shader Clock: 1750 MHz / Memory Clock: 1900 MHz
OS: Windows 7 Home Edition

Disclaimer: Over clocking can be dangerous to your PC Components, prior to attempting any over clocking we strongly suggest doing your home work! Ensure you have an adequate power supply as a first step!

2

Is NVIDIA 3D Vision for Everyone?

By
Ryan Kenward
– July 11, 2011Posted in: Blogs, Ryan's Blog

Back in March of this year, I posted an article about how my own personal opinions on 3D – specifically 3D gaming – drastically changed when I was introduced to 3D Vision.  nVidia has released a slew of interesting products since.  I recently received a shipment from nVidia with a few items: a 3D ready monitor (complete with 3D vision kit) and a new GPU (EVGA GTX 570).  I was very excited to dive into my game library to experience it all in 3D, but there was something that I was more curious about than anything else.

What would someone think that does not play games, nor has any real thoughts on the tech one way or another?  For this test, I used my wife as a guinea pig.  I quickly integrated the new components with my PC and brought up The Witcher 2, a game that looks phenomenal in 2D. It wasn’t a huge surprise that it looks just as good (if not even a little better) in 3D.  I called my wife into my office and asked her to put on the glasses. The first thing she said was, “Whoa.”  I knew this was a good sign.

She ran around a bit and took it all in.  My wife was very impressed, but I knew this wasn’t the game for her.  I fired up Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and had her try that out.  When she was a teenager growing up in Korea, she used to play first person shooters in the PC rooms with her friends.  She insists up and down that she isn’t interested in games, but when she saw Battlefield: Bad Company 2 in 3D, she was sucked right in.  I initially expected her to look around, be impressed and be done. I was proven absolutely wrong; by the second hour, I knew she was a believer.

My wife is the first person to dismiss anything related to video games; however, with 3D vision, this was not the case.  My wife typically hates 3D in the movie theaters, as it gives her a headache and makes her eyes tired. Though, with 3D Vision, she spent around two and a half to three hours without any complaints.  So returning to the question I posed in this article’s title, “Is NVIDIA 3D vision for everyone?” – if my wife is any measure to this question, then the answer is a resounding yes.  With 3D vision, it doesn’t matter if you are a techie, gamer, or just a checking it out because your husband made you. The end results will more than likely be the same — 3D Vision is outstanding technology that is impressive and fun for everyone.

 

* GPU (EVGA GeForce GTX 570), 3D Ready Monitor (ASUS) and NVIDIA 3D Vision kit provided courtesy of NVIDIA.

** Note, you need a monitor or display capable of 120Hz as opposed to the standard 60Hz most monitors are still sold at today.

 

2

Retro Gaming Trivia Contest

By
Ryan Kenward
– July 3, 2011Posted in: Contests, Vagary.TV

Now that we’ve upped our twitter follower base, we’re going to do some fun stuff – so if you haven’t followed yet, here is your chance.  Get on board!  Today we gave out a copy of Magicka on Steam to @plabrozzi. We’re still planning on giving away a 3DS once we reach 2750 followers – the only way to win is to follow, so get your friends to follow as well.  The sooner we hit the goal, the sooner we give it away.  For July we are going to do a Retro Gaming Trivia contest – we will post 1 question per day on our twitter feed twitter.com/vagarytv. The first correct answer will receive 3 points, and each subsequent correct answer on the same day will receive 1. At the end of the month we will give out prizes to the Top 3 scorers and also they will get their names added to a special page on the Vagary.TV site!  Watch your twitter feeds ladies and gentlemen and let the games begin!

-Ryan

Follow @VagaryTV and also follow me @RyanKenward for chances to win!  I may give out hints on my personal twitter when people get stuck!

 

Official Contest Rules:
1.) Follow @VagaryTV on twitter to get the daily trivia contest.
2.) E-mail correct responses to contest@Vagary.TV
3.) First correct answer receives 3 points, all subsequent answers receive 1.  We will accept 5 – 10 answers per day for points.
4.) Have lots of fun and learn some new gaming factoids!

2

Review: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3DS

By
Ryan Kenward
– June 29, 2011Posted in: Nintendo 3DS, Reviews

If you were living under a rock in 1998 or were too young/not born yet, then you unfortunately missed the first time Ocarina of Time was released.  Whether or not you realize it, Ocarina of Time revolutionized games much in the same way Super Mario 64 did two years prior.  In Ocarina of Time, we encounter Z targeting (the N64 version of locking onto targets you are fighting), we see rumble being used as feature to give clues, awesome new graphics and much more.  Ocarina of Time has been released on the Game Cube as part of a collectors disk, on the Wii’s Virtual Console and now – on the Nintendo 3DS.  Before stating anything else, let’s be certain one thing is clear: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3DS is -NOT- a straight port.  It is a vastly enhanced version of the game released in 1998 and of course now incorporates beautiful 3D.

If you have never played a Zelda game, this is a perfect one to start with.  As in most Zelda games, Ganon – “is up to no good, started making trouble in your neighborhood” of Hyrule.  Basically, Ganon wants to dominate Hyrule with the power of the Triforce.  As the name would imply, the Triforce is three part magical artifact left by the gods after they created the world.  Unfortunately, Ganon gets his hands on the Triforce of Power and seeks to enslave the other piece holders as well as the entire kingdom.  It’s up to Link to take the journey to defeat Ganon by wielding the Master Sword and the Ocarina of Time in this epic adventure of what was unseen proportions.

As mentioned, it is a vastly improved version of the original.  The graphics have been retouched, so they look much more beautiful and less polygon-y.  The 3D effect on the 3DS looks remarkable as well, and it’s easily the best looking game on the 3DS to date.  The system also allows players to use the motion ability to aim at targets. Potential players are probably going to want to turn this off… immediately.  The one issue with the 3DS and motion is the precise viewing angle you need to maintain to continue to see the 3D.  If you have to pick between 3D and looking silly using wonky motion controls, which one seems better?

The game play is also largely untouched, save for a few exceptions of a the new features made possible by the 3DS platform. The touch screen also enhances the experience immensely.  Players can switch between your inventory, maps and view their quest stats easily.   Additionally, the touch screen lets you map out four items, as opposed to the three on the other ports. Additionally, your Ocarina has its own spot on the touch screen, which sports the same low-bitrate soundbytes from the original; every awkward Link shout to the midi sound tracks is authentic.  This doesn’t really add, nor detract from the experience.

After the game is completed, you will be able to access the Master Quest.  It functions much like it did on the original Zelda for the NES, puzzles will be changed and dungeons will be moved around a bit to create a new experience; the difficulty level will also go up.  Adventurers will need to hack and slash, solve puzzles; walk the agonizing walk across Hyrule field a few times before obtaining Link’s trusty horse, Epona; catch chickens and much more to beat the game. This all ties in nicely to make for a game that is still one of the best experiences for a gamer of any skill or age. With enhanced graphics, portability, gameplay tweaks and tons of replay value, Zelda: Ocarina of Time holds its own and more.

5 out of 5

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