Hi all,

Today marks roughly a week from when I first heard about Shadow Era - via the iTunes App Store. Had some pretty good reviews and so caught my eye. Was initially hesitant about downloading it, since I never had experience playing this type of games, and wasn't sure I really wanted to play something so intense (mentally). Took me a few days before I finally plucked up enough courage to hit the download button. After all, isn't gaming all about mindlessly hacking 'n slashing down orcs and goblins on a 1d6 roll, or how about taking revenge on the evil piggies by flinging stones and trying to crush them silly? But then I saw the beautiful artwork and was really impressed, and everything else was, as "they" say, well history.

Yet at first I was traumatized by the fact you could view video history of matches by others - I thought 'Omg! What if I make a fool of myself and the whole process gets immortalized in the ethereal permanence of the Interwebs?' - and didn't quite dare to hit that Quick Game button. But then I tried clicking on that Orcish-looking face (I think it was Ter Adun's ugly visage), spent a quarter hour or so dancing around with him, and figured while I didn't exactly qualify as an intellectual, I would most certainly be bereft of my equanimity soon. I was amazed by the AI's tendency to make errors. Minor as there are, they are what add up eventually to the final outcome. Just like in life - the choices we make today determine the path we walk tomorrow. Add to that the fact I couldn't bear to play against the AI for the rest of however-long-I-would-be-playing-ShadowEra, and so I bravely took my first step forward ...

So here I am, trying out different heroes and exploring what makes them tick (or not). I basically try all my new decks on multiplayer games now, so if one catches a n00b messing around with a Lone Wolf (btw the art is really hilarious!) or two, and at a total loss as to how to play with him (i mean, he really looks like he's having lots of fun with his iPad and doesn't need any friends) , do have pity on this poor soul and keep your disdainful laughter to thyself!