General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article


Apple Announcing Plans For $100 Billion Cash Surplus Monday Morning

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 08:55 PM PDT

Stock

We know Apple news isn't the most popular thing in the world around here, but when a tech company claims it will be announcing its plans for their $100 billion war chest in a conference call on Monday morning, we can't help but be somewhat interested.

The heads up on the surprise conference call came late Sunday, and will address the mounting pressure on CEO Tim Cook to spend the $97.6 billion sitting in Apple coffers. With no debt and market supremacy in mobile, it will be interesting to see if they plan to start paying hefty dividends to investors, or if they will snap up a few vulnerable competitors.

Heck with that much money they could bail out the government, buy themselves a national wireless carrier, or even pay factory workers in China a decent wage. We'll know one way or the other soon enough, but one thing is for sure, it will have a huge impact on the financial markets tomorrow.

Rumor: Asus Built Google Nexus Tablet Coming Soon – Under $200

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 08:21 PM PDT

Asus TabletWe've been hearing reports of a Google Nexus Tablet for months now, however the reports are suggesting it may be coming sooner, rather than later. Android and Me claims to have solid sources within Asus that report a $149 quad-core Nexus tablet is a "done deal", however The Verge is suggesting it might be closer to $199. Either way this is a great price for a 7-inch pure Google tablet, and will be an important step if they are going to protect the Google marketplace from the Amazon onslaught.

That is of course, assuming the rumors are true.

You could make the argument a Nexus tablet's primary competitor is the iPad, but lets face it, that war is over for now. The battle in the short term will be fought for second place, and right now Amazon's highly customized version of Android complete with a replacement content ecosystem is running away with the show. Google's Android chief Andy Rubin claimed 2012 would be the year they doubled down on consumer tablets, and the Nexus tablet may be the first serious competitor for the Kindle Fire.

Reports are suggesting that Asus will be the OEM manufacturer for the first wave of Nexus tablets, and that NVidia's Tegra 3 got the boot in favor of Qualcomm in order to keep costs as low as possible. Samsung may be the current king of the hill when it comes to Android tablets, however it's still a pretty small market that is aimed at the high end. If Google puts its marketing muscle behind a less expensive tablet it could help drive prices down, regardless of Asus's commercial success with this first attempt.  An advantage Android needs now, more than ever.

Microsoft Security Essentials Usage Rising Steadily

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 07:09 PM PDT

MSEMicrosoft Security Essentials has never been the absolute best anti-virus solution out there, but its pretty darn good. It catches the vast majority of the security threats in the wild today, is absolutely free, and is supported by the guys who make the operating system itself so performance is always top notch. Common sense would suggest these guys would be running away with the market share, and in-fact that's exactly what's happening. A software development and service company by the name of OPSWAT published a report this week based on the findings of their AppRemoval tool, and it shows Microsoft gaining ground at a rapid pace.

Avast continues control the largest share of the global market, however Microsoft is dominating in North America with 14.58 percent of Windows users, and 9.96 percent globally. Security Essentials users are primary still on Windows XP, however Windows 7 customers aren't far behind. Windows Vista represents less than 5 percent of the Security Essentials user base, but that could also be because nobody is still using Windows Vista.

The pay anti-virus market is something nobody is going to miss, and each new and improved version of Microsoft Security Essentials brings us one step closer to a future where it simply won't be necessary.For the time being you are still better off with the latest version of Norton if you tend to visit some of the seedier corners of the net, but hopefully that won't always be the case.

OPSWAT

Apple Continues to Make a Huge Margin on the New iPad

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 06:17 PM PDT

Cash

The new iPad can't play Crysis, its also practically useless for productivity tasks, but ohhh did we mention it's really shinny? Regardless of what you think of the iPad, or tablets in general, there is no denying Apple is doing a great job of exploiting the trend. Annual refreshes have added more horsepower and features while holding the line on price, but are the same margin's possible with a display that rivals most 24-inch desktop panels?

In short no, but they are still making a killing. Hit the jump for all the gory details. 

The bill of material estimates from IHS iSuppli peg the build cost of a 16GB Wi-Fi iPad 2 at $245.10, while the new iPad that replaces it tallies up to $316.05. The biggest cost differences is the display which costs about $30 more per device, along with battery that doubled in size adding $9.30 to the build cost. A $316.05 build cost sounds plenty reasonable with a $499 end user price considering iOS development isn't included in the estimate, and at the end of the day a profit must be made, however 64GB iPad's are a totally different story. A 64GB iPad with 4G costs $408.70 to build, and they rake in $829 per device sold.   

The best value for your dollar appears to be the 16GB versions, so if you'd rather put as little as possible into Apple's $100 billion war chest that's the way to go. The chart below gives you a full breakdown. 

iPad BOM

MMO Updates

MMO Updates


Rise and Shiny: Lime Odyssey

Posted: 18 Mar 2012 10:00 AM PDT

Filed under: , , , , , , , , , ,

Lime Odyssey screenshot
Lime Odyssey is an Anime-themed free-to-play MMO brought to us from publisher Aeria Games. It features three unique races and... oh, forget it. You already know this probably. The game has a lot of buzz behind it, and Aeria is known to put out some great titles. I knew that when I was invited to check out the alpha for a first impression of Lime Odyssey, I would find a game that was high-quality and beautiful and ran well.

Sure enough, I did find that game. There's something magical about so many Korean titles. Many of them sport some of the most refreshing and original artwork and music, and the engines that many of those titles use is perfectly fit for almost any machine. Yes, there are the three races to choose from, the great Anime graphics, the neat crafting system, and combat systems and much more. My only regret is that I was able to spend only a few days in the game.

Continue reading Rise and Shiny: Lime Odyssey

MassivelyRise and Shiny: Lime Odyssey originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Previously on MVTV: The week of March 10th

    Posted: 18 Mar 2012 08:00 AM PDT

    Filed under: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    Previously On banner
    This week was another exciting week for livestreaming. If you missed it, don't worry! I'm here to show off some of the best moments from the previous week. Of course, you could always bookmark our Livestream guide so that you never miss a show again!

    This week we have some EVE Online action with Mike, followed by his adventures in RIFT. Richie is back in Guild Wars for some adventures in Kryta. I took a tour of some amazing art spots in Second Life to show just how wonderful the world is for artists and other creative people, then I finally finished my One Piercing Note quest in RuneScape (with the help of the chat room, of course!). Are you curious about Lime Odyssey? I was allowed to be the very first person to stream it live during alpha. I have to say, it sure is a polished alpha. I thought I was playing a released title. Lastly, Psykopig checked out Age of Conan and made us all laugh... he's good at that!

    Continue reading Previously on MVTV: The week of March 10th

    MassivelyPreviously on MVTV: The week of March 10th originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Mar 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink | Email this | Comments

      The Daily Grind: Do you expect a roleplaying server to be policed?

      Posted: 18 Mar 2012 06:00 AM PDT

      Filed under: , , , ,

      You're in violation of roleplaying statute 352!  Stop or we'll pretend to be vampires at you!
      I roleplay a lot. This probably does not come as much of a surprise. As a result, I've spent time on a lot of different roleplaying servers and have long since given up any hope that I'll ever see any enforcement of rules by the community service staff. It would be really nice if GMs politely kicked people who didn't come to roleplay, but the fact of the matter is that it's just not going to happen.

      But even though I don't expect it, I might be in the minority. What about you? Do you expect that on a server officially designated for roleplaying, the customer service staff will be monitoring the game and taking steps to improve the environment? Do you just expect that the staff will take complaints about inappropriate names just a bit more seriously? Or are you happy enough that there is a clear, reserved place to start building a roleplaying community without worrying about the police element?

      Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

      MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Do you expect a roleplaying server to be policed? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Mar 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

      Permalink | Email this | Comments

        The Tattered Notebook: The touching story of Ribbitribbit and the EQII community

        Posted: 17 Mar 2012 04:00 PM PDT

        Filed under: , , , , , , , , , ,

        Lillipad Jungle EQII
        Every now and then, we hear stories that transcend gaming and prove that there's something more to our pixelated worlds than uber loot and leveling up. Last week, the Guk server (which I proudly have called my home server for the past several years) rallied together to bring some cheer to a young boy with terminal cancer and to his loving family. I first heard of this story last week while I was at GDC, and although I wasn't able to attend the event, I caught up with one of the organizers this week to hear about this incredible effort. In this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll look at the story of Ribbitribbit and how his mother's call for help with decorating brought on a wave of support from the amazing EverQuest II community.

        Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: The touching story of Ribbitribbit and the EQII community

        MassivelyThe Tattered Notebook: The touching story of Ribbitribbit and the EQII community originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

        Permalink | Email this | Comments

          The Mog Log: Point two one

          Posted: 17 Mar 2012 02:00 PM PDT

          Filed under: , , , , , ,

          The Mog Log header by A. Fienemann
          So patch 1.21 has finally come out, after what feels like a wait of several thousand years. It's the biggest patch since the last one, certainly, and headlining the whole thing is the introduction of the Job system. Final Fantasy XIV players the world over can finally experience the game as one of the iconic classes that have pretty much been the other shoe waiting to drop since the game's launch. But there's also chocobo barding, new dungeons, new functional improvements, private rooms... the usual confluence of many separate elements in a single patch. It's the biggest one since the last one, in other words.

          The problem this patch faces with its marquee element, of course, is that jobs are something players have anticipated for so long that there's no right way to do them. However jobs get put into the game, some players will be happy and some won't. The best outcome has never been a perfect implementation so much as an implementation that's done consistently and hits the right notes. And that's arguably what happened, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'll agree that this was the best implementation possible.

          Continue reading The Mog Log: Point two one

          MassivelyThe Mog Log: Point two one originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

          Permalink | Email this | Comments

            The Road to Mordor: A soldier to call my very own

            Posted: 17 Mar 2012 12:00 PM PDT

            Filed under: , , , , , , ,

            LotRO
            So how are you liking Update 6 so far? No, I can't hear you right now -- you're probably going to have to leave a comment or something. Maybe I should do the talking for a while.

            With its new zone, massive PvP upgrades, class rebalancings, Landscape Soldier ability, updated barter wallet, and the Instance Finder 2.0, there's so much to chew on with Lord of the Rings Online's latest patch that it's going to take most of us some time to figure out what's what. I've heard a lot of praise for the new epic storyline, in particular the dream sequence, and it's definitely good that players who had tapped out Rise of Isengard's content now have more world goodness to explore.

            I am not in The Great River, not yet; I dug my level 65 Captain out of retirement and am plugging my way back up through RoI quite happily. However, I was incredibly curious about two of the most debated features of the patch -- the barter wallet and the ability to bring skirmish soldiers out into the world -- and I spent some time evaluating each. While I question the way Turbine's handling the cost of these features, I definitely came away impressed with what the wallet and soldiers do for the game.

            Continue reading The Road to Mordor: A soldier to call my very own

            MassivelyThe Road to Mordor: A soldier to call my very own originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

            Permalink | Email this | Comments

              Star Wars: The Old Republic answers questions on 1.2 and priorities

              Posted: 17 Mar 2012 11:00 AM PDT

              Filed under: , , , , ,

              No one ever asks if Hutta is ever going to be a bit less yellow.  That's just an accepted fact.
              With patch 1.2 on the horizon, most Star Wars: The Old Republic players have questions, which makes it a good thing that the game is still hosting a weekly community question-and-answer session to give players answers to those questions. This week, we've been granted a confirmation that more character slots are being planned, an assertion that new crafted items will still use existing high-end materials, and the promise that a "barber shop"-style feature is in the planning stages (even if it's not in 1.2).

              That last answer leads into a discussion of how the development team prioritizes updates, the pace of those updates, and what players can expect as each update goes live. As outlined in the answer, the big question is how much work any given feature is expected to take, which has to be juggled so that big features are coming out regularly without forcing development to stagnate. That means that some features have to wait for future updates -- but it seems like the team is still well aware of these issues just the same.

              MassivelyStar Wars: The Old Republic answers questions on 1.2 and priorities originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

              Permalink | Email this | Comments

              Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates

              Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates


              Skyrim Patch 1.5 Zooms In For The Kill

              Posted: 18 Mar 2012 09:19 AM PDT

              Skyrim Patch 1.5 Zooms In For The Kill

              Bethesda has released a new patch for The Elder Scroll V: Skyrim. The 1.5 Skyrim update has been released as a beta on Steam and includes new kill moves for melee and a kill cam for ranged and magic. Other new features are:
              - Shadows on grass available
              - Smithing skill increases now factor in the created item's value
              - Improved visual transition when going underwater
              - Improved distance LOD transition for snowy landscapes

              You can check out the full list of features and bug fixes on the official Skyrim website, and check out the Skyrim Update 1.5 video below:

              YouTube Preview Image

              Find alternates article at: http://www.totalpcgaming.com/latest-pc-news/skyrim-patch-1-5-zooms-in-for-the-kill/

              Data fetched from: Gameforumer.com: Latest Games News, MMORPG Reviews, Gaming Community

              Star Wars: The Old Republic free to play this weekend

              Posted: 18 Mar 2012 09:19 AM PDT

              Star Wars: The Old Republic free to play weekend is already well under way and is set to end at 2am Monday 19th March.

              Launched in December to a good number of positive reviews, including ours, which came courtesy of NowGamer.com's Daniel Cairns, SWTOR has enjoyed a pretty good run so far. To keep the momentum going newcomers are being welcomed to the opening stages of the game and sample both PVE and PVP aspects of gameplay.

              You can sign up for the free to play weekend, which started in the small hours of last night, by paying a visit to BioWare's official Star Wars: The Old Republic website.

              Find alternates article at: http://www.totalpcgaming.com/latest-pc-news/star-wars-the-old-republic-free-to-play-this-weekend/

              Data fetched from: Gameforumer.com: Latest Games News, MMORPG Reviews, Gaming Community

              TERA

              Posted: 18 Mar 2012 09:19 AM PDT


              [Note: This post is not meant to be professional, this is a personal blog for god's sake. Thanks.] I was never really going to play TERA upon release, so I thought it would be alright to spend a couple of dollars to try out the Closed Beta phases for TERA Europe. I first played TERA on the Korean server ages ago in Closed Beta 1 or 2 using a friend’s account, but since then I have not touched the game.


              Open world action combat is something which I have not seen for a long time, with an old MMO call Risk Your Life (or Return of Warrior in the latest incarnation) the closest thing for me. Of course I was excited when TERA was announced, after all the old man in me is getting tired of the “generic” point and click combat system. So what possible complains could I have against TERA?

              “True action combat”. I am not sure how Bluehole Studio, the Korean developer define this, but in my books, not having the ability to fire projectiles or swing weapons while moving/ strafing is not really “true” action combat. It is more like a “True Non-Point and Click” online title. Imagine you are a soldier on the battlefield with an assault rifle, but everytime you want to shoot, you have to stand still at a spot, fire a few rounds, and move again. The same thing applies for melee combat, you can’t swing your weapons while moving. I am getting the feeling I will be flamed for being so choosy and stuff, but seriously, this restriction pissed me off tremendously. The skill casting system is not “fun” or “action” at all as well. I find it hard to describe in words, but it has got something to do with a delay when casting continuous skills not caused by lag, but how the system is designed.

              Ok, so gamers wanted action combat, hence the developer gave “console style action combat”. Wait, is it really “console style”? What made console RPG action fun? Let me see… endless chain of combos, ever jumping damage numbers, bonuses for more attacks being chained together… Wait, none of these are in TERA! Yes, I am being picky again, but I hate it that all these things were apparently not thought of much during the production process.


              Basically, TERA does not really have an identity of its own other than the rather novel acknowledgement of it as the first open world action MMORPG. Other than that, everything else is pretty much similar to old-school mainstays like Lineage II and WoW. It also lacks the true meaning of action, which was highlighted above. With that said, NCsoft reportedly formed a new team for Lineage III recently. Hopefully, the development team played enough consoles action RPGs and online games like Dragon Nest to know how combat should actually be like.

              Is TERA really all that bad? No at all. The graphics is one of the best I have ever encountered for an Unreal Engine 3 title. Most of the others I played felt somewhat clunky, perhaps due to the inexperienced developers working on the engine. In fact, TERA has perhaps the best graphics in MMOs I have ever played in my life, alongside ArcheAge. Since majority of Bluehole Studio’s staff defected from NCsoft, which use Unreal Engine for most of its games, this is the kind of quality and polished visuals which make gamers immerse in the detailed world.

              There is a small detail which gave me a pleasant surprise, which is getting random buffs just by gathering resources out in the open field. They range from healing you, increase max health points, increasing gathering skills and more. You see, it is all these simple things which gamers take for granted, and only will complain about if one day this function disappears.

              I guess that is all for now. My main point is, the “action combat” lacks the “action”, and combat itself does not make a complete game without the right features to complement this system. Hey, having massive server merges in just a couple of months in Korea and Japan didn’t happen for nothing after the initial craze. TERA is a good game to spend some time in now, but once Diablo III and Guild Wars 2 arrives, I fear the worst. Guild Wars 2 may not boast the “True action combat” tag, but with its dynamic world events, secret dungeons, PvP modes and more, it will definitely trounce TERA in terms of re-playability. And no monthly fee as well!

              Find alternates article at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2012/03/tera-my-opinion-on-game.html

              Data fetched from: Gameforumer.com: Latest Games News, MMORPG Reviews, Gaming Community

              RaiderZ

              Posted: 18 Mar 2012 09:19 AM PDT


              [Game website] So, this weekend was spent primarily on TERA Europe and RaiderZ. The latter is currently in its Alpha test phase, but I shall be just giving a brief first impression since my character is now stuck at sea and I have no mood to start all over again. Yes, you heard it right, my character is currently glitched, which you can see in the video below .___. Was advised to start a new character, but nuh… All online games should really give all players a Recall skill to either shorten the travel time or get out of glitched areas…

              From what I remember, RaiderZ was once touted as have “no classes” in foreign media. There are really no classes, but you still have to choose your weapon of choice when creating your character. These are call “styles”, for example a 2-handed melee will be called the “Berserker style”. It is possible to learn skills from all the styles available, given you know how to spend the limited amount of skill points.


              While I am quite pissed by TERA’s combat, RaiderZ has exactly the same style. But why am I not raging? Well, RaiderZ did not tout it self as a “True” action MMORPG and boast about all the other accolades related to this function. I really like the crafting system in RaiderZ, as it is all really about collecting drops from monsters to make better equipments without having to worry about the lack of in-game gold to buy new ones.

              At the crafters, they even show you which mobs drop the required item. Some may see it as simple, but I see it as convenient. Not having played Monster Hunter, I wonder if this is the same system in the franchise. While most of the items are really easy to acquire in the beginning, I wonder if subsequent materials will require drops from open world bosses, which will no doubt create conflicts.

              There are a couple of reasons why RaiderZ is a better play for me compared with my experience in TERA. There are little bits of gameplay which delighted me, including the cannon adventure seen in the video below. Although there is no combo meter, my character goes into berserk mode after some time to increase my attack. What’s more, RaiderZ boast similar BAMs (big ass monsters) in the game, with open world combat as well to boot. Minus that ridiculous crosshair. And if you see some of the videos, certain mobs actually drop their weapons for players to use temporarily. And the weather plus time of the day will affect when certain monsters spawn. Did you know there is no weather system in TERA, which is due to the game’s lore? Hmn…

              I am not really sure why, but earlier games like Dragon Nest at least have a couple of different starting zones and quests before players eventually meet in the same big town. While I understand TERA has a different city for each race, I wonder why don’t players start off there instead of the same newbie island. The same goes for RaiderZ, where everyone starts off at the same stone portal. Hmn…

              Graphics wise, RaiderZ is still a notch below TERA’s stunning visuals. But what about the long term prospects? While games like WoW and RIFT are giving out the first 20 or so levels free, Guild Wars 2 having no monthly fee after the initial purchase and RaiderZ being Free to Play, I have always foreseen a slow death for TERA. Well, we shall see. I will be back again after RaiderZ hits the next phase after bugs and translation errors are fixed, hopefully.

              Find alternates article at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2012/03/raiderz-alpha-test-phase-first.html

              Data fetched from: Gameforumer.com: Latest Games News, MMORPG Reviews, Gaming Community

              Shenmue HD Re-Releases Can Only Help Shenmue III’s Chances

              Posted: 18 Mar 2012 09:19 AM PDT

              Shenmue

              Shenmue is one of those beloved franchises that, as much as they love it, many fans have accepted will never be seen again short of dusting off a Dreamcast. Yet there might be a chance for the series to be revived in some capacity through Sega’s HD classic game re-releases. If Jet Set Radio can get the treatment, why not Shenmue?

              Gamereactor (via NeoGAF) spoke with Sega associate brand manager Ben Harborne at GDC about the upcoming HD version of Jet Set Radio, and he briefly touched upon fan requests for other Dreamcast re-releases. He said Shenmue and Skies of Arcadia are among the most frequently asked for, adding with a smile, “I can’t say yes or no, but we may be working on them.”

              Following that GamerZines claimed a source has indicated Shenmue and Shenmue II are to receive the HD treatment. Not only that, but Shenmue HD has been “finished for well over a year.” The reason for the delay in releasing it, the source said, is because Sega has been evaluating what it will do with the franchise as a whole, including the fate of Shenmue III.

              It’s been nearly ten years since a new Shenmue was released in North America. The original, created with a massive budget (albeit an oft-exaggerated one), was released here in 2000 but was ahead of its time. Sales, which received no help by the game only being available on Dreamcast, were not as strong as the game deserved or needed in light of the investment Sega had made in it. The sequel was released on Dreamcast and Xbox (only the latter version made it to North America, where it came out in 2002) and also disappointed at retail.

              Shenmue

              An MMO marketed at the Asian market, Shenmue Online, never panned out. Creator Yu Suzuki was able to get a new game made, albeit a mobile/social game for the Yahoo Mobage service in Japan. It was shut down after only about a year.

              Suzuki hadn’t lost his interest in a new Shenmue game as recently as last year’s GDC; during a panel he spoke about how Sega would allow him to make Shenmue III but that there was a “budget issue” standing in the way. Since then he has left his job at Sega for an advisory role with the company and become a producer at Premium Agency.

              Sega could likely get by with the HD re-releases without his assistance. It’s not as if the ones Sega has done to date have drastically altered the original games — in the case of Jet Set Radio some of the original’s music is gone due to licensing issues, and the right stick (which was not available on Dreamcast) can now be used to control the camera. But if Shenmue III were to happen, one would think Suzuki has to be at the helm.

              While the chances of the game happening remain slim, the HD re-releases present as good of a chance as any for fans to convince Sega to back it — petitions are one thing; money is quite another. Strong sales of the original games on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network could send a message, and I have no doubt there would be more than a few fans willing to buy the games on both platforms just to make sure that message is clear. Hell, with Kickstarter being shown as a potential avenue for funding a niche game with an ardent fan base, perhaps Sega could look there for some assistance in coming up with the money to make Shenmue III.

              Failing that, they could always ask Notch.

              Find alternates article at: http://www.1up.com/news/shenmue-hd-help-shenmue-iii-chances

              Data fetched from: Gameforumer.com: Latest Games News, MMORPG Reviews, Gaming Community

              Unpopular Games We Can’t Help But Love

              Posted: 18 Mar 2012 09:19 AM PDT

              Not every game can be a winner; amid all the triple-A, must-play experiences, a great number of titles receive critical scorn and go on to comprise a sad chapter in The Great Book of Gaming History. Even so, whether it’s due to our own idiosyncrasies and/or undiagnosed brain disorders, each of us has our own favorite “bad” game we enjoy despite the head-shaking and constant judgment of those around us. It’s true that some of the following games might have received critical acclaim in their day, but the passing of years has given each of them a bad reputation that’s mostly deserved. Still, we can’t help but love these games, because — hey — someone has to.

              Simcopter Art

              Simcopter

              I fully expect most of the people reading this to have absolutely no idea what SimCopter is; the game emerged within a strange PC gaming landscape where Maxis desperately tried to wring every last drop of life out of their tremendously popular SimCity 2000 with a series of add-on games that mostly functioned as complete embarrassments. As video games slowly lurched into the world of hideous polygons by the mid-nineties, SimCopter offered a tantalizing prospect: flying around your very own SimCities in mind-blowing threeeee-deeeee! As expected, the game looked like total butt — even for the time — but in a pre-Grand Theft Auto world, SimCopter felt like the good guy prototype for what would soon become Rockstar’s generation-defining series. As with GTA, SimCopter offered the player free reign of a city, and all the possible chaos this freedom would bring; sure, you could Life Flight unfortunate souls to hospital rooftops, use your megaphone to disperse riots, and dispense cops in the vicinity of dangerous criminals, but you could just as easily drop any number of people to their doom, or use your on-board water cannon to blast anyone unlucky enough to wander in front of your copter.

              To complete the GTA connection, SimCopter also featured in-game radio stations, which played a mix of light jazz, public domain selections, and charmingly amateurish commericals — seemingly voiced by the Maxis custodial staff. The game is also notable for introducing the world to Simlish, the charming pseudo-language which would soon become the lingua franca for Maxis’ Sims series. So why didn’t this game go over well with critics? To be fair, it’s incredibly creaky, and the development stories leaked by one programmer in particular indicate a somewhat hostile working environment (which is why said developer rebelled by infamously including smooching be-Speedo-ed men in the first run of the game). In 1996, though, no other game offered the relaxing freedom of SimCopter, which is why I still yearn to revisit it once again, despite its complete fugliness. — Bob Mackey

              SaGa Frontier Art

              SaGa Frontier

              SaGa Frontier — and the SaGa series in general — may be developed by RPG goliath Square-Enix (née Squaresoft), but inside the big-budget veneer beats the heart of a quirky indie game. The SaGa games defy console role-playing expectations, consistent only in their determination to play by their own rules. They’re games that aren’t afraid to experiment, to explore, to break convention, and even to fail gloriously.

              The problem that SaGa Frontier had to overcome is that even though it was Square’s seventh SaGa title, practically no one in America knew of its legacy. They didn’t realize Game Boy’s Final Fantasy Legend trilogy was “Makaitoushi SaGa” (and sequels) in Japan. They were unaware of the Romancing SaGa trilogy for Super NES, because it had never been localized. All they knew is that this was the next RPG from the company that created Final Fantasy VII, and by god it was going to be amazing.

              And it really was an amazing game! It was amazingly ambitious. Amazingly open. Amazingly abstract. But it was not very much like Final Fantasy VII, like… at all. SaGa Frontier operates according to its own rules, most of which are never properly explained. Why do your characters get up after they die, but if they die enough they’re gone for good? Ah, that’s the enigmatic “Life Points” system at work. Why do little light bulbs appear above my characters’ heads? Well, they’re learning new techniques… through methods the game never delineates nor visibly tracks. How come I saved in this one place early in the game and now I’m locked in with the final boss and can’t possibly win because I’m only level 5? Oops, sorry about that. Non-linear RPG design and all. Heh. Please consider starting over.

              Despite its flaws — its oblique game mechanics and really gross-looking mixture of low-resolution sprites on prerendered backgrounds — there’s a lot to like about SaGa Frontier if you give it the chance. The game consists of seven different scenarios featuring different protagonists, with lead characters ranging from a sentai superhero (who can’t use his powers in front of human allies lest he reveal his secret identity), to a woman unfairly accused of murdering her husband, to the first-ever half-human/half-mystic hybrid, and more. SaGa Frontier’s mechanics actually do make sense if you take the time to figure them out, and its settings and stories are far more original than the standard console RPG fare. Sure, you have to jump through some hoops to appreciate them; sure, the game seems unfinished (supposedly the team intended an eighth scenario to tie everything together); sure, it’s a little weird all around. But in an era of copy-and-paste game design, you can’t help but look back at the experimental SaGa Frontier as a daring way to follow up a blockbuster smash like Final Fantasy VII. — Jeremy Parish

              Find alternates article at: http://www.1up.com/features/unpopular-games-we-love

              Data fetched from: Gameforumer.com: Latest Games News, MMORPG Reviews, Gaming Community

              DOTA Online (TW)

              Posted: 18 Mar 2012 02:26 AM PDT


              Even if I am a Chinese myself (not from China though), I can’t help but to fume at MMO developers and publishers who have zero creativity when marketing their games. Game content duplicating is seen as a norm now, but why the game title as well? Introducing Dark Of Three Ancientkingdoms Online… get the drift? Even if my English ain’t perfect, I have the urge to hit my monitor screen now.


              One of the many Defense of the Ancients clone in Asia, this game is developed in China and published in Taiwan/ Hongkong by Gameone. I mean, right, there are tons of similar games of the genre out there with basically the same maps, but why stoop so low that even the game title has to be imitated?


              As the title suggests, 76 of the game’s 88-strong character list are from Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The only “new” thing in terms of game mode will be the ability to have 10 Vs 10 matches. Have a look at the game’s website in the pictures posted…

              Find alternates article at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2011/10/dota-online-tw-stooping-to-new-low.html

              Data fetched from: Gameforumer.com: Latest Games News, MMORPG Reviews, Gaming Community

              Batman: Arkham City Reaffirms Itself as The Best Superhero Game

              Posted: 17 Mar 2012 02:26 PM PDT

              If you’ve spent much time in the corporate, work-a-day world, you know that one of the big differences between a great employer and a lesser one is how they approach the concept of “human resources.” A good employer takes the term to mean they should provide resources for humans; a bad one takes it as carte blanche to treat humans as resources. As it happens, this is also the biggest fundamental difference between a Pokémon game and the latest Dragon Quest Monsters release, Joker 2. Both revolve around capturing creatures to send into battle, but where Pokémon is all about bonding with your team, Joker treats those monsters as disposable means to an end.

              Joker’s ultimate goal isn’t entirely alien to Pokémon fanatics — it’s all about having the biggest, baddest group of monsters on the battlefield — but the difference is in how you accomplish that objective. In Pokémon, you bond with your team, raise them up, evolve them, and make them stronger through the power of friendship. Here, your captive creatures are commodities to be exploited. Monsters don’t evolve on their own; rather, you fuse them together into new forms, destroying the original creatures in the process. It’s almost exactly like demon fusion in a Shin Megami Tensei game, and just as in MegaTen, Joker doesn’t even pretend to treat your battle minion as anything but tools to be used and discarded. It’s not insignificant that while Pokémon gives you enough PC box slots to keep one of every monster type, Joker offers only 100 slots total in your monster pen — less than a third of the overall bestiary. You’re supposed to use up your creatures in the process of making better ones. They’re forgettable. Disposable.

              Find alternates article at: http://www.1up.com/reviews?cId=3185943

              Data fetched from: Gameforumer.com: Latest Games News, MMORPG Reviews, Gaming Community

              Total Pageviews

              statcounter

              View My Stats