This site along with updates and Events posted on Facebook will keep you informed of all the incredible stuff we have planned this year!

• Got a club, fraternity or sorority? Looking for something interesting for everyone to do? Roxx offers special pricing on game time, smoothies and MORE to all student organizations!
• We’re open until THREE IN THE MORNING most days! We got games; we keep Gamer hours!
• Get your caffeine in a hundred different ways! Drip Coffee, Lattes, Chai, Energy Drinks and a special CAFFEINE BOOSTER that adds 85mg of Pure Energy to ANY DRINK for only $1.00!
• 12 gaming PC’s, 8 console screens and many of the latest games including Madden, Left4Dead, Magica, Heroes of Newerth and League of Legends!

http://www.newsrecord.org/living/entertainment/electrocafe-roxx-uc-campus-1.2523118

As per the custom, you’ll take the role of a young boy or girl and quickly meet a Professor named after a tree (Juniper in this case). You’ll also meet your “rivals,” those they’re essentially just friends, as you’re asked to explore the world and fill the Professor’s Pokedex, since she’s just so damn busy. That’s where the story’s familiarity ends. Unlike past versions, where the story is essentially filler to pass the time, developer Game Freak has made a conscious effort to craft a story worth caring about. It tells the tale of Team Plasma and their Seven Sages, who wish for trainers to free Pokemon so that they may roam the land on their own free will.

Its this attention to the story that keeps you interested in playing through the game in a way never experienced before. Instead of trying to quickly run through the game, chances are you’ll want to take your time, enjoy the new scenery, and follow the story, however formulaic it might be. Most importantly, you feel a part of the region instead of some kid who just wants to be the best because no one ever was. When you’re not trying to stop yet another evil team from ruining the world, you’re collecting gym badges and making your way to the Pokemon League, where you’ll fight against an all new Elite Four and the Pokemon Champion. But the story doesn’t end there; there’s still a lot for you to discover, aside from end game activities. All told, you’ll spend a good 40 hours or so in main story activities.

Speaking of that end game, it’s what keeps me coming back for more. Say what you want about the franchise, but it has one hell of a metagame, essentially one giant turn based strategic game of rock paper scissors where you’ll make your team of 6 pokemon and participate in either singles, doubles, or now even triple battles, though the latter comes off as nothing more as a gimmick. You’re also given the option for a rotation battle, where you’ll send out three Pokemon at once, but they’ll rotate in terms of who’s actually usable for you. Unlike triple battles, rotation battles are an interesting addition that hopefully gets expanded upon more.

Chances are, though, that despite the two new additions, you’ll be sticking with the singles or doubles matches, and for good reason. The new Pokemon do an excellent job at changing up the metagame drastically, whether its due to their typing, abilities, or stats. For example, there’s a large number of slower Pokemon, quite possibly giving rise to teams that cater in that direction, something that’d shake competitive battling.

The final new addition to the franchise is the Dream World, which requires you to be connected to the Pokemon Global Link over WiFi. You’ll be able to do several things in the Dream World, which at times feels like a separate game, similar to an Animal Crossing. Most importantly, Pokemon from the Dream World have separate abilities that completely change the game even more and add an all new depth of gameplay to the point where it simply has its own separate tier. It’s an interesting change that makes the metagame that much more exciting and it’s something owners of the game should eagerly anticipate come March 30^th when it’s released in North America.

You may notice as you play the game that the bottom screen isn’t used for a PokeGear or PokeWatch type application anymore. Instead, you have what’s called the C-Link, which allows instant and seamless integration over a local or internet connection, meaning you no longer have to go to a PokeCenter to trade or battle with friends, a very welcome addition to the game. That being said, there are some tools that are missed, such as the step counter or the number adder, two items that were useful for breeding and training new Pokemon.

Visually the game doesn’t really stray much from its roots. The over world still looks incredibly dated and out of place, causing me to still favor the bright and vibrant 2D colors of the advance games. Pokemon sprites have been finally updated and show more life; they move around as opposed to being simply static and battle animations have been improved as well. Things feel more active as oppose to their stagnant past, something that has been needing addressing for a long, long time. It makes the battles just flow that much better. As expected, the musical score is still great, though it still doesn’t hold a candle to the original’s. And while the Pokemon sprites have been updated, they’ll still make that same old MIDI screech.

The story alone taking 40 hours of your time is enough to be satisfactory for a traditional turn based RPG, but add in the competitive, addicting, and strategical gameplay that Pokemon is known for and you have an excellent game. While the new battle additions don’t necessarily pan out, the new Pokemon added to the Pokedex, as well as the battle animation changes, are simply icing on the cake. Time will tell whether or not Black and White will ultimately have staying power, but in comparison to Diamond and Pearl, this is the superior version for the DS and a must own for any Pokefan.

WRITTEN BY JAKE “hop3less” VALENTINE, EXCLUSIVELY FOR ROX.BIZ!

Here are the pages I used for configuring the System Connect:

http://support.xbox.com/en-us/Pages/xbox-360/troubleshoot/kb/xbox-kb.aspx?kbid=910583

http://www.ehow.com/how_5817024_system-360-over-wireless-network.html

Just disregard all of the instructions about ethernet cables, or “installing a wireless adapter”.  All of our X-Boxes have wireless built in.

Also, if your XBOX refuses to talk to the outside world, then it’s probably because someone left it configured for the system connect network.  You need to go into the network settings and connect back to the “ROXX” network.

Once I found the magical incantation to fix the wired connections, I immediately went out and bought a 16 port hub and some Ethernet cables.  Today I got it all installed and working.  The players who bought hours on our computer today noticed a HUGE improvement in net performance.  One game of Left 4 Dead 2 even showed us hovering at a 12 ping to a remote server.  Starcraft 2 has also smoothed out quite a bit.  We’re waiting for our HoN and LoL players to test out our new setup, but I have high hopes for them as well.

Also, there are a few improvements to the Client Front End, including the ability to filter the game list based on game type (MMO, FPS, RPG, etc…)

You have been heard.  The issues have been fixed…

Now I have to go see someone regarding something about a contract and my immortal soul…

The problem adding fancy new zones in the first two expansions is that it makes
the “vanilla” world look dated, so Blizzard dealt with that issue by simply blowing it up.
Deathwing, the leader of the black dragonflight, has awakened from a long slumber
and is incredibly grumpy; he returns to Azeroth in a fiery inferno, forever changing the
landscape. Familiar locales are forever destroyed and former wastelands are now fertile.
As you may have guessed, Deathwing is the main villain in the expansion, and while he
doesn’t have the same constant presence in the story that Arthas had in Lich King, you
know he’s there.

The Shattering, as it’s been called, had an effect of all parts of Azeroth, even those
unknown or forgotten by its residents. The Greymane Wall has been cracked apart and
the worgen, a new playable race for the Alliance, have been finally introduced in WoW.
They come with them sort of an industrial age presence, as concept arts of their village
of Gilneas would indicate. While it doesn’t ultimately meet the standards the player base
may have put on it, time spent in the starting area for Worgen is still enjoyable. It brings
something different: more of a serious and story driven tale, not that Blizzard hasn’t done
such a thing before (look at questing in Northrend), but it’s never been so important as it
is for the worgen.

In as big of a contrast as you can get, the goblins ally themselves with the Horde, after
being stranded on a tropical island during The Shattering. Where the worgen story was
one that was more serious, the goblin story is more comical and over the top. Their
starting area can only be described as full blown folly, with a zany musical score and
a Grand Theft Auto-esque quest line. While (arguably) the worgen quests flow better,
the goblin is the better of the two. The one issue, however, with these two new races
is that their racial abilities blow everything else out of the water. Though on a 2 minute
cool down, the ability for Goblins to rocket jump forward, as well as the Worgen’s ability
to resist curses and diseases, has all sorts of balancing implications in PVP and raid
environments.

To be honest, that’s probably the biggest (and debatably only) issue in this expansion:
balancing. For the first month, hotfixes were happening daily, some to understandably
fix bugs, but it always seemed like there was a class mechanic change. Retribution
paladins, for example, took at least a month to be able to perform respectable DPS,
while unholy death knights are still nowhere near where they should be. In a time where
Blizzard has stressed “bring the player, not the class,” such balancing issues are a bit
concerning. Ironically, most of the balancing issues really come into play in the raiding
environment, not the PVP environment, despite what the vocal player base may say
about a class change being done only for PVP purposes. While, obviously, top tier PVP
teams will only have specific classes that excel best in their roles, there doesn’t really
appear to be an odd man out.

One can argue that Blizzard’s decision to only add in 5 levels, not the customary 10,

helps to round out for a better end game experience. While some may argue that it isn’t
enough content, personally I disagree. Questing will take up a good amount of your
time, roughly about 30 hours or so, to get from 80 to 85. Like in Northrend, you’ll have
somewhat of a nonlinear path, but it’s generally accepted that you’ll visit 4 out of the 5
new zones. Of them, we have the much anticipated Mount Hyjal, completely oozing with
lore and an absolute blast to quest in, the underwater Kelp’Thar, a trippy visual treat that
comes off more aggravating than anything, the undeground Deepholm, former resting
place of Deathwing himself, the Egyptian based Uldum, and the Twilight Highlands.
Each zone has their own flair and story, with its own beginning and ending. Some
are memorable, such as the horde’s entry into the Twilight Highlands or the Harrison
Jones story in Uldum, and others aren’t as strong (Deepholm), but overall the questing
experience was one that was surprisingly enjoyable. As you may have ventured to
guessing, with the recharging of the old world, the 1-60 quests have also changed. While
this is true, once the initial novelty wears off of going through the reformed world, they
pale in comparison to the 80-85 quests, save a few memorable lore experiences.

Once you reach 85, you’ll be able to ender the world of end game content, whether it’s
PVE raiding or PVP combat. PVE content is arguably the toughest Blizzard has created,
Burning Crusade’s content included. Fights are all about learning strategy and learning
mechanics, not just powering through them Wrath style. While running 5 man dungeons
and heroics admittedly start to grow old, enjoy the fun while it lasts. Dungeons are well
designed, offering new challenges and bringing back old favorites such as Shadowfang
Keep and Deadmines. Raiding, as well, offers a great challenge and 3+ months in still
offers a great deal of challenge, without even factoring in heroic modes. Instead of only
essentially giving us one raid dungeon to enter like in Wrath, we instead get three (well
two, plus a third with two bosses, but they’re not exactly pushovers). This diversification
prevents the grind from getting too tedious and repetitive, while combining loot to 10
man and 25 man content allows for greater accessibility; it really is the best of both
worlds.

The PVP scene follows the rule “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Nothing has really changed
in arenas, aside from being more accessible for all classes and specs, something that
really needed attention. Cataclysm does introduce new battlegrounds: Twin Peaks,
a new take on capture the flag, and Battle for Gilneas, a smaller scale Arathi Basin.
Battlegrounds really have come a long way since their launch and it shows here:
while they may nothing more than a reskin of a different battleground, there’s a better
sense of balance. In addition, there’s now the option to play with preset team in rated
battlegrounds, similar to rated arenas. While Blizzard wanted to eliminate some of the
problems seen in Wrath battlegrounds, such as high amounts of burst damage, they’ve
done a good job with it; for the most part. You’ll still have the occasional issue regarding
burst, but more often than not it means you simply don’t have enough resilience on your
gear.

WoW often gets a lot of flack for not being the greatest looking game on the market,
however undeserving it may be. There’s no denying it’s “cartoonish” art direction, but it
both works out in its favor by being a game that runs smoother, graphical improvements
on the engine have made it look pretty damn good in its own right, aside from really
dated character models. Environments in particular look stunning, with Hyjal being the
biggest stand out of them all. My NVIDIA 8800 GT runs the game on higher settings
perfectly at 60+ FPS, with shadows turned off and light textures set to medium. The
biggest improvement graphically for Cataclysm in water texture and it really does show,

though there’s no real excuse for Blizzard to show it off. Still, it’s nice to know they’re still
able to make updates to the engine.

I’ve talked for two pages now and haven’t even mentioned the game’s new profession
and there’s a reason for that. Archaeology, while offering some really good rewards
for some, is a gigantic chore that usually isn’t worth the effort, aside if you’re a
completionist, or really bored. Archaeology requires you to venture through the world
and survey specific areas until you’re able to dig for treasure. Yes, it really is as much
fun as it sounds. So while the profession aspect of the game didn’t receive much new
love, guilds did. Each guild now has its own level ranking system and reputation; the
better rep you have with your guild, you’re able to buy specific items, such as the
popular bind on account heirlooms for alt characters. Guild rep helps to also earn guild
experience, which unlocks new rewards, such as a mass resurrection, bonus gains
to XP and Honor, and so on. They’re all really great additions to the game, though it
makes switching guilds a somewhat frustrating process and a decision not to be made
lightly.

There’s a lot to explore in Cataclysm; despite the length of the review, I’ve honestly only
touched the surface of what Blizzard has to offer now in terms of content. Undeniably,
I can say that this is their best expansion to date, offering new challenges in end
game content, a much more refined leveling experience, and another well needed
improvement in the graphical engine. Even three months in, there’s a fire burning inside
of me every time I log in to raid. While the initial spark of running through new content
is gone, the end game content is good enough to keep coming back for more, whether
you’re a seasoned veteran, someone who’s taken a long break from the game, or new
altogether. World of Warcraft is both the most popular and one of the best MMOs on the
market for a reason; Cataclysm proves it.