General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article


No BS Podcast #189: Nathan's Farewell

Posted: 10 Sep 2012 05:18 PM PDT

No BS PodcastEpisode 189 of the No BS Podcast ushers in a new era for Maximum PC. It is Nathan Edward's farewell podcast (He's moving to Texas, y'all), but with every ending there comes a new beginning. New Online Managing Editor Jimmy Thang makes his podcast debut alongside Editor Josh Norem and Maximum PC Editor-in-Chief Katherine Stevenson. Our special guest star this week is Gordon Mah Ung's soundboard! (WARNING: ridiculous times ahead) 

Along with employee introduction and departure discussions, the No BS Podcast delves into the Samsung vs Apple ruling, game developers vs Microsoft's Windows 8, and the death of the optical drive. Oh, and we also answer a bunch of your questions from Facebook and Twitter!

Daily Deals 9/10/12: OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SATA III SSD, MSI Raedeon 7770 and More

Posted: 10 Sep 2012 11:57 AM PDT

Logicbuy

Top Deal

For those looking to put an SSD into their laptop or desktop, today's Top Deal from LogicBuy is an OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SATA 6Gb/s SSD (VTX3-25SAT3-120G) for $84.00 with free shipping (normally $104.00). The SSD has a SandForce 2281 controller and is rated for 550 MB/s and 500 MB/s Sequential read and write speeds. We liked its bigger 240GB cousin that came out last year. You can check out our review of that SSD here

Laptops:

15.6" Apple MacBook Pro MD318LL/A Core i7 2.2 Ghz Laptop with 4GB of DRR3 RAM, 500GB hard drive, Thunderbolt port, and Radeon HD 6750M for $1,469.00 (normally $1,669).

 

Alienware m14x R2 14" Core i7 2.3 Ghz Gaming Laptop with 6GB of DDR3 RAM, 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 650M graphics, for $1,099.00 with free shipping (normally $1,199.00).

 

Desktops: 

Dell Vostro 260 Core i3 3.3Ghz Slim Tower with 21.5" Dell 1080p LCD Monitor, 500GB hard drive and Windows 7 Professional with a bundled $100 Gift Card for $549.00 with free shipping (normally $893.00 - use coupon code W9D06J14FX10WM ). 

 

Computing Hardware & Peripherals:

21.5" Dell U2212HM UltraSharp1080p IPS-panel LCD Monitor with DisplayPort for $188.10 + Free shipping (normally $259.00 - use coupon codes: XNL07K1W36RMW5 and H164M9QC3SDVTL ).

 

MSI Radeon HD 7770 1GB of GDDR5 Video Card for $114.99 with free shipping (normally $139.99).

 

Patriot Axle 32GB USB Flash Drive for $19.99 (normally $30).

 

HP Select 120 15.6" Laptop Backpack for $29.99 (normally $80 use coupon code SVP471394).

 

Sony VAIO WMS30 Wireless Laser Mouse which has an 800dpi and nano USB receiver for $9.99 (normally $29.99).

 

Fausto II Mesh Executive Office Chair for $49.99 (normally $99.99).

Toys R Us Jumps on Tablet Bandwagon with $150 Tabeo Slate for Toddlers

Posted: 10 Sep 2012 08:21 AM PDT

Let's face it, Steve Jobs was wrong when he downplayed the market for a 7-inch tablet. Amazon proved it (Kindle Fire), Google reaffirmed it (Nexus 7), Barnes & Noble bought into it (Nook Tablet), and now Toys R Us is jumping on the bandwagon, albeit it's headed towards a different destination. Toys R Us is targeting tots with its specially design 7-inch "tabeo" (lowercase 't') tablet for kids. It's relatively affordable at $150 MSRP, and it comes pre-loaded with 50 kid friendly apps.

"Over the past year, we've spent considerable time talking to parents and children to determine what features and functions they really want in a kids' tablet, resulting in tabeo," said Troy Peterson, Vice President, Divisional Merchandise Manager, Toys R Us, U.S. "We are proud that tabeo offers robust and flexible parental controls that can help protect children as they surf the Internet, and we are pleased to offer the tabeo App Store, which features only kid-safe content carefully curated by the Toys R Us team."

Let's start with the hardware. The tabeo is a 7-inch device with an 800x480 screen resolution, ARM Cortex A8 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, a micro SDHC card slot, HDMI output, front-facing camera, built-in Wi-Fi, USB 2.0 interface, and of course it all comes wrapped in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (which we assume most toddlers prefer over Jelly Bean, at least in name alone).

Tabeo Tablet

It's not just about the hardware, however. Toys R Us has built an ecosystem around its kid-friendly tablet. Among the 50 pre-loaded apps are nearly 20 games, including titles like Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, Cut the Rope, Temple Run, and more. There are educational apps tossed into the mix, and a full suite of parental controls to keep little Billy from venturing over to seedier sides of the Web or from spending too much time online. In all, Toys R Us says it has available over 7,000 free games, books, and educational programs at its tabeo App Store.

"As an added bonus, if users bypass tabeo's built-in Internet browser, parents will receive an email alert to notify them that their children may be browsing in an unfiltered environment," Toys R Us explains.

The tabeo will land on store shelves on October 21, with pre-orders being accepted now.

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Valve Sees the 'Big Picture' in Gaming, Launches Revised Steam Interface for TV Today

Posted: 10 Sep 2012 07:19 AM PDT

It's called "big picture mode," and it's how Valve intends to declare war on consoles. Launching in beta form today, big picture mode is a special interface for Steam that's more appropriate for viewing on a living room television set than the current one you see on your PC. It's Valve's answer to the walled garden approach console makers have taken with their platforms, and could be the first step towards the oft-rumored Steam Box that's talked about every so often.

Don't worry if you're a big fan of Steam just the way it is, the new viewing mode is completely optional and intended for gamers who want take their pastime into the living room, PC in tow. For those that do, big picture mode boasts full controller support, without shunning the keyboard and mouse.

"Steam's big-picture mode doesn't require any additional development from you. Just ensure your game works well with a controller, and we'll take care of the rest," Valve explains on its Big Picture portal. "And don't worry, keyboard and mouse aren't going anywhere—users will be able to switch between input devices at any time."

Steam Big Picture Mode

Valve co-founder Gabe Newell has been very outspoken in his disdain for wall garden ecosystems, such as the one he fears Microsoft is building around Windows 8. With projects like big picture mode and recent hirings for hardware developers making the news, it seems increasingly likely Valve is headed towards a Steam Box, which is essentially a PC-console hybrid.

If you want to catch a glimpse of what big picture mode will look like, Kotaku posted a bunch of screenshots of the new interface. Note the larger fonts and icons that are easier to view on a TV, along with an overall look that's somewhat similar to the Xbox 360's dashboard.

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HP's Ultra-thin SpectreONE All-in-One PC Sports a Wireless Trackpad for Windows 8

Posted: 10 Sep 2012 06:36 AM PDT

Hewlett-Packard, still the world's largest pre-built PC player, introduced four new all-in-one desktop PCs today, including the SpectreONE, which is the first AIO to join the Spectre family. The other three include the HP Envy 23, Envy 20 TouchSmart, and Pavilion 20, the latter of which is the only one of the bunch that's a non-touch system. HP's SpectreONE doesn't sport a touchscreen either, but it does ship with a wireless trackpad that will allow users to scroll, swipe, and tap around Windows 8 when it ships in October.

"The clean look of an all-in-one PC and the ease of one-cord set-up are key reasons customers turn to HP," said James Mouton, senior vice president and general manager, Personal Computer Global Business Unit, HP. "The SpectreONE design is art as well as a powerful entertainment hub. Across our rich line of all-in-ones, we continue to drive value and differentiation that have earned us sales of more than 5 million all-in-ones."

In addition to a wireless trackpad, the SpectreONE is accompanied by a 23.6-inch flush-glass Full HD 1080p display, an unidentified Nvidia graphics card with 1GB of memory, third generation Intel Core processor options, optional SSD storage, NFC technology, USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports, HDMI input, Beats Audio, and various other odds and ends wrapped in a frame that's just 11.5mm thin.

The HP Envy 23 and Envy 20 are both touch-enabled AIOs with a similar feature-set as the SpectreONE, while the Pavilion 20 is for budget conscious buyers who aren't necessarily interested in the touch revolution sweeping the PC landscape.

HP says it will begin shipping the HP Envy 23 TouchSmart ($999), 20 TouchSmart ($799), and Pavilion 20 ($449) in October. The SpectreONE will be available in November starting at $1,299.

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MMO Updates

MMO Updates


The Secret World's Digging Deeper update delayed until Wednesday

Posted: 10 Sep 2012 09:30 AM PDT

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The Secret World's Digging Deeper update delayed until Wednesday
Fans looking forward to the already delayed issue #2 in The Secret World will have to wait an extra day. Funcom just tweeted that Digging Deeper will be deployed on live servers on Wednesday, September 12th instead of the 11th. The extra day is to ensure that everything is working as intended. According to the announcement, downtime is currently unknown, but will be announced via the usual channels when details are available.

MassivelyThe Secret World's Digging Deeper update delayed until Wednesday originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mega Man MMO might be canned

Posted: 10 Sep 2012 09:00 AM PDT

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Mega Man MMO might be canned
With dozens of games and collections, Mega Man has had quite the prolific run as a console game, and NeoWiz has been working on turning Mega Man into a MMORPG called Rockman Online (after the Japanese name for Mega Man). However, although there is no official word it appears that the project may have been shelved after internal restructuring in the company. Environments artist Kang Dong Hwa blogged that his current project was dropped and he is looking for other work. He also posted various concept art pieces that he'd been working on for Rockman Online over the years, usually a no-no for games currently under development.

MassivelyMega Man MMO might be canned originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wings Over Atreia: A rant against xenophobia in Aion

Posted: 10 Sep 2012 08:30 AM PDT

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Wings Over Atreia  Return of the Rant!
You know one of the great things about a weekly opinion piece? The ability to about-face and change topics when inspiration strikes... or you just can't bite your tongue any longer. And I am going to exercise that right right now: I'm diverging a bit from my intended thoughts about more of Aion's upcoming 3.5 goodies and addressing something that has been gnawing at me for the past few weeks.

Actually, address might be too gentle of a word because the more I think about it, the more it is turning into an outright rant. And you know that it takes quite a bit for me to get riled up enough to unleash; with only three rants in over two years, I definitely lag behind in the rant department!

What could be getting my goat enough to actually fire up the ol' rant-o-matic? It's not anything that's been done -- or not done -- by NCsoft. The company is in the clear this time. It's actually the players. More specifically, it is the unacceptable attitude of bigotry and intolerance that's being heaved about in Aion against other nationalities and other languages. A great big W. T. F. here folks. Now I am not accusing all players of this, not by a long shot. But the fact that it is cropping up with any frequency is a problem.

Something needs to be said. So I am saying it.

Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: A rant against xenophobia in Aion

MassivelyWings Over Atreia: A rant against xenophobia in Aion originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    Champions Online Exclusive: Rock out with Sapphire!

    Posted: 10 Sep 2012 08:00 AM PDT

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    Champions Online Exclusive Rock out with Sapphire!
    With Champions Online reaching its third anniversary this month, the team at Cryptic Studios is pulling out all the stops to make it one for the scrapbooks. Because superheroes totally scrapbook and don't let anyone tell you differently.

    Starting next week, players can enjoy rewards such as legacy gear and vanity pets, as well as an upcoming concert starring Sapphire. Don't get too complacent with the festivities, however, as rampaging robots will be trying to crash the party. These machines are part of Dr. Destroyer's army from 1992, and are building up to a full-on invasion of Millennium City later this month.

    Get a jump on the party with an exclusive listen to Sapphire's anniversary song and a sneak peek at a trio of new comic book-style loading screens that are coming soon to the title!


    MassivelyChampions Online Exclusive: Rock out with Sapphire! originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      MV Guide: September 10 - 16, 2012

      Posted: 10 Sep 2012 07:00 AM PDT

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      MV Guide September 10  16, 2012
      MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV.

      Every week, the Massively Stream Team logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises each week, so you'll find a variety of titles to watch. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, or simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.)

      Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule, and let us know if there's a specific game you'd like to see streamed next week!

      Continue reading MV Guide: September 10 - 16, 2012

      MassivelyMV Guide: September 10 - 16, 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        The Daily Grind: Would you still play if you had to start over?

        Posted: 10 Sep 2012 06:00 AM PDT

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        Would you still play if you had to start over?
        In their struggle to save their game from sunset in November, City of Heroes fans are faced with a dilemma: What if their heroic measures work but only halfway? What if they manage to save the game but not the team and the game stays on life support? Or what if they save the game and the team but not the servers and everything on them -- would people still play?

        That exact situation has already hit Ryzom players, whose servers are set to be wiped and consolidated in an effort to keep the game online. So suppose your favorite game lost all of its data for some reason. Your characters are gone, with no hope of retrieval. No levels. No currency. No twinking gear. No achievements. No vet rewards. No guilds. No resources. All of it, gone.

        Would you start over? If not, would you take it as a sign to play another game? And if so, what would you do differently the second time around?

        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: Would you still play if you had to start over? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          MMO Week in Review: Something old and something new

          Posted: 09 Sep 2012 06:00 PM PDT

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          GW2
          At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place. If you missed a big MMO or WoW Insider story last week, you've come to the right post.

          This week, SOE dazzled the MMO world by announcing a pair of new expansions for 1999's EverQuest and 2004's EverQuest II in addition to PlanetSide 2's beta bonuses and a new system for monetizable player-generated content called Player Studio.

          Meanwhile, brand-new Guild Wars 2 struggled with security issues, community woes, and support outages, although studio ArenaNet has made headway in bringing the trading post and forums online, and the game's strong sales are hard to ignore.

          Read on for the rest of Massively's top MMO stories.

          Continue reading MMO Week in Review: Something old and something new

          MassivelyMMO Week in Review: Something old and something new originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 09 Sep 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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            EVE Evolved: Has EVE Online boxed itself in?

            Posted: 09 Sep 2012 04:00 PM PDT

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            EVE Evolved title image
            When I was first introduced to EVE Online in 2004, it was an empty shell of a game. There were only three classes of ship, no alliances or starbases, and neither exploration complexes nor level 4 missions existed yet. EVE consisted of 5,000 systems of almost completely empty space populated by less than 50,000 players. The user interface was an order of magnitude worse than it is today (if you can imagine that), and the tutorial just dropped you in the middle of space with the ship equivalent of a pea shooter and a less-than-enthusiastic "good luck!"

            Though much of the game was empty, it sat before players like a blank galactic canvas. Not only could players paint their own stories into the game world, but EVE's highly active development team was updating the game at lightning speed. Players instinctively filled the voids in the game with their hopes and dreams, projecting all the things that EVE could be into the gaps. People shared ideas on the forum directly with the developers, and practically anything was possible. Things aren't quite the same today, as new ideas have to be compatible with over nine years' worth of updates, and developer CCP Games really can't afford to rock the boat and potentially lose subscriptions.

            In this week's EVE Evolved, I consider whether the past nine years of development has boxed EVE in, forcing the gameplay down an ever-narrowing branch of choices.

            Continue reading EVE Evolved: Has EVE Online boxed itself in?

            MassivelyEVE Evolved: Has EVE Online boxed itself in? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 09 Sep 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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              One Shots: Still got it

              Posted: 09 Sep 2012 02:00 PM PDT

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              One Shots
              Runes of Magic was a F2P game before the cool kids joined the F2P party, but it's been a little neglected by MMO players. Massively reader Andrew wants us to know that it's got some spark left in it:
              While Runes of Magic may be three years old, the graphics are still looking great. There's some awesome vistas in RoM that appear when you take the time to control+z your interface and look around. This shot is from Southern Janost Forest.
              In fact, Andrew sent us two pics, and they're both behind the break along with a few more of your One Shots!

              Continue reading One Shots: Still got it

              MassivelyOne Shots: Still got it originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 09 Sep 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                MMOGaming News

                MMOGaming News


                Firsthand Information of Dragon's Call II

                Posted:

                Firsthand Information of Dragon's Call II


                Though the official website of Dragon's Call II has not Open to gamers, its official facebook is already popular among its loyal fans of Gamedp.

                Does New Content Bring You Back to An Older Game?

                Posted:

                Does New Content Bring You Back to An Older Game?


                For older games, the developers attracted players by updating new content to the game. Do new content updates compel you to leave your current flame for an older MMORPG?

                MicroVolts Announced Its Latest Upate - Varsity Volts

                Posted:

                MicroVolts Announced Its Latest Upate - Varsity Volts


                Rock Hippo Productions announced that MicroVolts has received its latest update Varsity Volts.

                Guild Wars 2 - China Gold Play Studio Was Reprimanded For Hacked Accounts

                Posted:

                Guild Wars 2 - China Gold Play Studio Was Reprimanded For Hacked Accounts


                After the first weekend OF Guild Wars 2 formal operations , ArenaNet received a 8500 technical support requests involving the hacked of accounts, announced the news after the twenty-four hours, ArenaNet help 2574 players retrieve their stolen account.

                Navy Legend Steps Into Its Ultimate Testing

                Posted:

                Navy Legend Steps Into Its Ultimate Testing


                Navy Legend - A 3D Sea-Warfare themed, World WarⅡHistory based, MMO TPS game developed by Kingworld(Beijing)Technology, steps into its ultimate testing period.

                Stunning New MMO Black Desert (KR) Reveals Debut Trailer

                Posted:

                Stunning New MMO Black Desert (KR) Reveals Debut Trailer


                Korean new MMO Black Desert revealed its debut trailer recently which shows the stunning attack effect and large-scale constructions. Pretty much similar to those seen in movies, the defenders will have to destroy the invaders' cannons, ladders and kill them off, while the invaders will have to destroy the main gate and try to climb up the walls.

                LuniaZ: Server Will Closed Next Month

                Posted:

                LuniaZ: Server Will Closed Next Month


                Nexon Korea announced that LuniaZ game service will be terminated on October 11th, 2012 in South Korea.

                The Road to Mordor: Three things LotRO needs from Guild Wars 2 (and vice versa)

                Posted:

                The Road to Mordor: Three things LotRO needs from Guild Wars 2 (and vice versa)


                MMOs used to develop in a vacuum, but now they're much more interconnected. The upside for consumers is that proven features often spread to the competition, hopefully improving the whole playing field.

                RF Online Has Announced Its Official Service Re-launch

                Posted:

                RF Online Has Announced Its Official Service Re-launch


                RF Online will host a series of special events from now until November 6, including an event server that grants server wide experience boosts and PT of 1000%. Players can also race to level up for prizes if they are one of the fastest, plus enjoy new level rewards and weapons at level milestones.

                Faithful Fans Show Spectacular Support for City of Heroes

                Posted:

                Faithful Fans Show Spectacular Support for City of Heroes


                It is really sad for a faithful player to hear the end of their beloved game. Faced with the news that City of Heroes is due to sunset before the end of the year, CoH fans have been putting on a tremendous show of support for the game and Paragon Studios. Saturday saw a massive rally on the in-game steps of City Hall in Atlas Park as players gathered to show their support and love for Paragon Studios and its employees.

                Serenia Fantasy Server 1 Starter Kit Giveaway Event

                Posted:

                Serenia Fantasy Server 1 Starter Kit Giveaway Event


                Ray Media Group Limited, of which official website: (http://www.gamedp.com/) , releases Serenia Fantasy, Server 1, named Dreamlike Island, at 02:00 AM, September 6th EDT(GMT-4).

                TERA Dungeon Guide: Saleron's Sky Garden

                Posted:

                TERA Dungeon Guide: Saleron's Sky Garden


                Saleron's Sky Garden is different than the other dungeons in that the bosses you fight are somewhat random. We'll go over the dungeon while taking into consideration the variability between the bosses you may get each run. First off, we'll start with the map!

                WoW: Mists of Pandaria TV Spots Now Live

                Posted:

                WoW: Mists of Pandaria TV Spots Now Live


                Get ready for a bold new age of exploration and adventure. Crafted from Mists of Pandaria's opening cinematic, new TV spots for the expansion are invading the airwaves everywhere… so keep an eye out for Chen Stormstout amidst episodes of your favorite shows.Pandaria opens September 25— pre-order now at Warcraft.com.

                End of Nations Third Closed Beta Event Now Live

                Posted:

                End of Nations Third Closed Beta Event Now Live


                Trion Worlds today kicked off the third highly-anticipated closed beta event for End of Nations, the upcoming free-to-play online military strategy game. The event went live at 12:01am EST last night and will conclude Sunday, September 9 at 11:59pm EST, and this time around the development team will be debuting Elite Companies - pre-configured armies that can be purchased and are built to serve a specific purpose.

                PlanetSide 2 Announces Alpha Squad Package

                Posted:

                PlanetSide 2 Announces Alpha Squad Package


                Sony Online Entertainment has announced a special "Alpha Squad" package for players eager to get in Planetside 2.

                T3fun Reveals September Events of Hellgate Global

                Posted:

                T3fun Reveals September Events of Hellgate Global


                T3fun announced a new line-up of events for Hellgate Global players that will challenge all to a heated battle against the demons of Hell.

                The Glorious Guardian: The Support/Sustain Role - Part 1

                Posted:

                The Glorious Guardian: The Support/Sustain Role - Part 1


                Since the launch of Guild Wars 2 I've rolled many different characters. Testing out each profession and race combination until I could find something that really spoke to me. There are a couple of professions which are my favorites but so far only one has really stuck out as being my main character. The guardian, a Sylvari female with a mushroom head, has seen me though half of the game so far.

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