Due to popular demand of video discussions, I have taken it upon myself to have a monthly community event of sorts.

On Saturday, December 4th at 2:00 PM PST (5:00 PM EST), I, and some special guest(s) will be on camera, for two hours. Just for you readers! Those in attendance loved my Wednesday live stream of the updated dungeons and the banter between us hosting, that I decided “Why not go on camera and have more banter?”

This is a new regular event that I will focus on. It being new, I would like comments on how you liked it (after, of course) and what you would like to see in the future. As of now, it is a work-in-progress to find that specific “niche” way to do it. What we will do is essentially introduce ourselves, discuss a few items on our hidden agenda, and then leave it open to the public.

You could use it simply to say thanks for the site, suggest things you would like to see happen (on camera or the site!), ask about what’s planned, or simply to find some way for us to begin “discussing” lore or other MMO/gaming topics until we’re blue in the face.

Warning: Content could be NSFW (not safe for work…or children, adults, seniors citizens, zombies, spacegoats, witches / wizards, warlocks, monks, or elves. In fact, it might be safe to just not listen to us — but watch)

The content is really up to the viewers to decide what they want from us, and what to talk about. Seriously. If you want me to jump up and down, while patting my head and rubbing my stomach, I’ll do it (Ed’s. Note: Make him do it every five minutes).

Hope to see many of you there, Lore Hounds!

Call of Duty isn’t an actual MMORPG, but it might as well be one. I mean, the series was always popular, but it wasn’t until the inclusion of experience points and a leveling structure — traditional RPG elements —  that the franchise became the world’s premiere multiplayer experience. And, let’s face it, while there is no persistent world, there is a massive number of people playing the game at once. It fits the bill, even if I’m stretching the terminology just a little bit.

Just about a year ago, Modern Warfare 2 had a terrible, powerful hold on me. I was still playing World of Warcraft, but this was a way for me (and a few of my fellow officers) to blow off some steam after a bad raid night. In fact, I’d be checking my watch feverishly between every wipe or secretly hoping we wouldn’t have enough people on that night to actually do anything. For all of the game’s inherent problems — lack of dedicated servers, bugs, glitches, hacks, and general imbalance — it was a much-needed, twitchy, fast-paced alternative to the overthinking and babysitting required of a 25-man raid. The game eventually wore on me, though, and I switched to Battlefield: Bad Company 2 when that came out, but even that soured over time.

I swore to myself that I wouldn’t fall for the next Call of Duty game. Not only was the series’ second-string developer, Treyarch, having another go at it, but I just didn’t think I could put myself through the torture again. I kept myself in the dark, ignoring the game and its impending hype. Well, until a couple days ago, I read some well-informed impressions, and became hooked on the idea of playing all over again. Much of the multiplayer cheese had been addressed, Treyarch was bringing back their popular Zombie co-op mode from World at War, and to be honest, I kind of dug the Cold War theme.

So here I am again, trying to get my bearings and dealing with the launch day lag. As well as getting my ass kicked. I’ve got, oh, six hours to kill before my girlfriend comes home and so, I invite you to watch, chat about or (if you have the game) even join me for another Lore Hound LivePlay. All you have to do is click on the little window embedded below. It’ll be more exciting this time. I promise.