HTC has been in a bit of trouble after the launch of the HTC One, but things might be looking up for the Taiwanese phone manufacturer. According to a report by the Financial Times, Amazonis partnering with HTC to get into the smartphone market, but we probably won't be seeing a completed phone for a while.
Although one of the three devices being considered is "at an advanced state of development," the FT states that the launch timeline has already been changed once and that Amazon might not even release the device.
The entire agreement is remarkably similar to Google's partnership with LG which resulted in the Nexus 4 and might have continued over to the unreleased Nexus 5. It's also the first time that Amazon has worked with a well-known phone maker like HTC. All of Amazon's Kindles have been designed in-house.
This isn't HTC's first attempt at a partnership. The HTC First—otherwise known as the Facebook phone—was a collaboration between the hardware designers at HTC and the developers at Facebook.
What do you guys think about Amazon and HTC getting together to make branded Android phones? Let us know in the comments!
Fractal Design is a big fan of small, subtle modifications within its various lines of computer cases, or so it seems. At first glance, you might assume we are simply blowing some dust off the ol' Fractal Design Define R4 and giving it a re-review. And we wouldn't blame you for thinking so—the two cases look nearly identical.
The Fractal Design XL R2 looks a lot like the Define R4 unit before it.
As the "XL" in its name implies, the Define XL R2 is a taller, slightly fatter version of Fractal's Define R4 chassis. The "embiggening" allows the XL R2 to support E-ATX and XL-ATX motherboards, for those of you looking to stuff your system full of video cards. At just over 1.8 feet tall, the XL R2 doesn't feel like that much of a monster underneath a typical desk. Its perfectly rectangular design helps keep its overall footprint smaller than cases with curvier panel designs.
Fractal covers nearly every bit of the XL R2's surface with sound-dampening foam of varying thickness. It works to keep the noise down, but not as well as the system's included three-fan controller, which we're glad Fractal still throws into the mix. Slapping the case's three included 14cm fans onto a medium speed setting, combined with the sound-dampening foam, does much to quiet this system to a dull hum. However, all of the fans and test system components spinning full-bore does manage to get a bit noisy.
The XL R2 distinguishes itself from the nearly identical Define R4 by supporting larger motherboards.
We're pleased to see that Fractal has opted to double the amount of available 5.25-inch bays in the XL R2 versus the Define R4, which gives enthusiasts a bit more room to play with. We still wish that they were screwless, but we appreciate the extra space. The XL R2's eight drive bays are split into two drive cages of four trays each, and both are moveable (or removable) to make room for bulkier front-panel radiators—or better still, unhampered airflow.
The case's considerable cable management capabilities continue to impress us. Seven huge, rubberized holes on the motherboard tray deliver plenty of space to string cables between the tray's rear and the case's (heavy) side panel, which includes connections for the system's two front-mounted USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports. The cables for the system's front-panel connectors (power light and power button only) could stand to be a bit longer.
Fractal Design XL R2 chassis
We only had two big qualms when building a system in this chassis. First, we would have much preferred to have the case's motherboard standoffs already built into the tray (or a guide peg for helping us to align the motherboard itself). Fractal Design also does something weird with the power supply installation, in that it opts to stick two triangular pieces of rubber on the bottom of the case that the PSU should, in theory, be able to rest on.
In practice, our power supply knocked these rubber pegs completely off the case's bottom. Even when they stayed put, we still had a bit of a fuss screwing our PSU into the chassis. We would have preferred some mechanism that keeps the PSU level on all four of its sides.
Fractal Define's XL R2 is a wee pricier than the Define R4; you're paying a surcharge for the slight reworking and roomier interior. Minus the omission of the Define R4's two motherboard tray SSD mounts, the XL R2 is a pleasant (albeit minor) upgrade to Fractal Design's smaller chassis.
Or how I learned to stop worrying and accept Windows 8
After six months of using it (including the previews), I've fully mapped out the five stages of Windows 8 adoption: Denial. Confusion. Anger. Depression. Acceptance.
First comes denial. "I mean, really, the Start button isn't really gone, is it? It can't be. Medic! Don't die on me you son of…! Nooo!!!"
Confusion then sets in. Whether you're an octogenarian octocore-overclocker or a skinny-jeaned hipster sitting in a café with an Ultrabook, confusion will reign. "Wait, why does it keep going to full screen? How do I get this to dock? How do I shut down the PC? How come the app controls aren't uniform? How do I close apps? Wait, Modern apps are different than desktop apps? Huh, what?"
The longest stage is anger, which I'm betting the vast majority of users are still in. It lasts for months and will occasionally simmer over into bouts of screaming at the screen, murderously gripping your mouse, and pounding on that innocent victim—your keyboard—until keys pop off. "Why is it so hard to reboot my computer?!" "If I had an actual Windows 8 disc, I'd smash it to bits! Wait, I'll actually burn a Windows 8 ISO to disc and then smash it!"
Anger is the longest stage of Windows 8 adoption
Eventually, depression sets in. Hell, what else explains dismal PC sales this last quarter? Many analysts (and PC makers) blame Windows 8 for putting the plane into a nose dive.
The good news, I'm happy to report, is that eventually acceptance sets in. I spent months in the anger stage and additional time wallowing in despair and depression. On a recent new desktop box at home, though, I had the option of going with Windows 7 or Windows 8, and actually opted for Win8. I installed the Enterprise version and didn't initially activate it because I wanted to see if I could stand it on my primary gaming and content-creation box without a touchscreen. In the end, however, I committed, and, amazingly, I'm OK with my choice.
I even opted to stick with the much-hated Modern UI because I wanted to suffer as others have. While I'm a bigger fan of Windows 8 when paired with a touchscreen, the lack of a touchscreen on this gaming box hasn't been a deal-breaker. How did I go from foaming-at-the-mouth anger and deep despair over Windows 8 to a level of acceptance? I've really started to appreciate all the little things Microsoft has done to the OS. The Windows Task Manager, for example, is one of the more accurate tools for determining my machine's current clock speed. I've put it against Intel's own utilities and it's been spot on. Switching back to the Windows 7 Task Manager feels like I'm in Windows XP or Vista. My new SSD needs to be Trim'd? Not a problem with Windows 8, either.
There are enough improvements to Windows 8 that at this point in my life, I've decided to accept it, and maybe even prefer it.
Microsoft has already received a bunch of negative press over various aspects of the Xbox One, much of which has been addressed to gamers' satisfaction (such as removing the requirement to dial home every 24 hours). However, there remains a point of possible contention that you'll find on Microsoft's Xbox One Pre-Order Production Information website. Among the list of requirements to use the Xbox One, gamers must waive their right to participate in a class action lawsuit against Microsoft.
This isn't the first we've seen of this behavior. Sony also sought to protect itself from class action lawsuits by introducing a mandatory wavier to its terms and conditions for its PlayStation Network after it was hacked a couple of years ago.
In this case, Microsoft may have been influenced by the so-called Red Ring of Death (RRoD) that affected several early Xbox 360 models. Should something similar happen with the Xbox One, gamers would have to sue Microsoft individually rather than in a class action suit.
According to Paul A. Herman, an attorney and consumer advocacy expert, the matter is "completely objectionable," IBTimes reports. Herman said clauses like the one Microsoft is using gives them a "totally stacked deck" that makes it easy to screw customers.
"Arguments can be made that would not even be considered evidence in a real court of law," Herman told IBTimes. "If they pick the arbitration company, it's easy to skew the judgment in their favor."
At the end of August, Cooler Master announced the HAF Stacker, the world's first stackable mod tower. It's actually a series of individual cases consisting of the HAF 935, HAF 915R, HAF 925, M-ITX HAF 915R, and M-ITX HAF 915F, but with the modular concept Cooler Master is shooting for, you can stack them up in various configurations and create something truly unique. Wondering how it all works?
Cooler Master dishes up the details on a new HAF Stacker microsite broken up into 10 parts covering specs for each chassis and how they all go together, including some of the build options that are available. There are plenty of pictures and a video to digest,
The site is a work in progress and heavy on scrolling, though you can click on any of the 10 parts in a strip on the side of the webpage to jump straight to that section. Give it a glance and let us know what you think of the site and case.
When it comes to gaming, we've always held firm that you could pry our discrete graphics cards from our cold, dead hands, and for the most part, we feel the same way today. However, we have to give props where they're due, and right now Intel deserves kudos for its Iris Pro 5200 graphics, the embedded graphics found on select 4th Generation Core processors (Haswell).
At Comic Con over the weekend, two popular StarCraft II gamers went toe-to-toe in what's believed to have been the world's first professional gaming match played entirely on systems with CPU graphics. CyberPower's Zeus Hercules gaming notebooks featuring Haswell processors with Iris Pro graphics played a pivotal role earning some street cred for integrated graphics.
"The competition was streamed live on Twitch.tv (and archived here) so StarCraft II fans all over the world were able to get into the action. Another advantage of Intel Iris Pro graphics is that streaming on Twitch.tv with Intel Quick Sync Video enabled results in up a 60 percent reduction in CPU utilization, freeing up more resources to play your game," Intel's Dan Snyder explained in a blog post.
Specifically, both StarCraft II players got their gaming groove on with an Intel Core i7 4750HQ processor with Iris Pro 5200 graphics
We missed this one when it was first announced, but in case you're wondering, Microsoft has stated that it plans to support Windows 8.1 up until January 10, 2023. Mainstream support will cease a little sooner, expiring on January 9, 2018, after which time the "Extended Support" phase kicks in. What's the difference between Mainstream Support and Extended Support? Here's what you need to know.
Mainstream Support covers the following:
Paid support (per-incident, per hour, and others)
Security update support
Non-security hotfix support
No-charge incident support
Warranty claims
Design changes and feature requests
Product-specific information that is available by using the online Microsoft Knowledge Base
Product-specific information that is available by using the Support site at Microsoft Help and Support to find answers to technical questions
Extended Support covers all of the same, minus the entries that have been bolded. There is an option to extend non-security hotfix support, though it requires an extended hotfix agreement, purchased within 90 days of Mainstream Support ending, Microsoft says.
The other interesting tidbit is that Microsoft is mandating an upgrade to Windows 8.1.
"Windows 8 customers will have two years to move to Windows 8.1 after the General Availability of the Windows 8.1 update to continue to remain supported under the Windows 8 lifecycle," Microsoft says.
For a brief time yesterday, we noticed that Newegg had the MSI Radeon HD 7990 (R7990-6GD5) dual-GPU graphics card on sale for $550 after a $30 rebate card. The price has since gone back up to $890, but there are still a few deals to be found, and perhaps more on the way. That's pretty impressive when you consider these cards were hovering around $1,000 just a little while ago.
While the MSI deal seems to have expired (doesn't hurt to keep checking), the next lowest price is for a VisionTek card. The VisionTek Radeon HD 7990 is going for $600 with free shipping and no rebates to play around with. There are a few others around the same price (and even a little less after rebate), all of which come with free games as part of AMD's Never Settle promotion.
Anyway, consider this a heads up in case you're in the market for one of these cards. In the meantime, check out our First Look of the Radeon HD 7990 as well as our review of PowerColor's Devil 13 Radeon HD 7990.
In the words of Homer (Simpson, that is), "Mmm, pizza." It just so happens that pizza goes great with gaming, so why not combine the two? If you agree, you're going to drool over today's batch of bargains, which kicks off with today's top deal for BioShock Infinite (Online Game Code) bundled with $10 Domino's Gift Card for $20 with free shipping (normally $50). Talk about a tasty combo! Already own BioShock Infinite? Keep reading.
There's already a lot of flexibility for players in The Secret World's ability system, but there's room for more customization. Sure, you've got your eight active and eight passive abilities, but what if you could have eight more slots to customize your behavior? That's the core idea behind the new Augment system, a marriage of new skills, loot, and abilities that allows you to turn your existing build and fine-tune it even more carefully.
Augments come in four categories: Assault, Healing, Support, and Survivability, roughly analogous to the roles currently present in the game. Each active ability can have an Augment slotted into it depending on its type, and each Augment requires the leveling of a skill related to the Augment, the AP necessary to learn the new Augment, and the loot necessary to make one. Take a look at the full rundown for a more detailed explanation on how you can take your gun-wielding punch artist to the next level of mastery.
Jagex has announced a spooky new quest released today for RuneScape's Halloween event. Missing, Presumed Dead introduces players to a new area, new puzzles, battles against the walking dead, gods, mortals, and a host of new rewards to sweeten the pot.
The quest will also set the scene for a brand new core storyline in RuneScape's lore. It can be played through the game's new Bonds system that allows players to purchase membership with in-game gold.
Check out the behind-the-scenes trailer after the jump and the official announcement for more information.
Two weeks ago we learned that the retro-themed 8BitMMO launched a funding drive throughout October in order to enhance the game experience for players. With half the month still to go, the MEGA-OCTOBERBIT-FUNDRAISER has already reached its $1,000 goal and is now working on the first stretch goal. Successful funding means that the construction sandbox game will get a server upgrade before the launch of the desktop edition (which is currently in closed beta for backers only).
If another $600 is raised in the next two weeks, players will get a Mac edition of the desktop client. If the funding drive surpasses that, new stretch goals will be revealed.
Sometimes, being a hero is more than a difficult job, it's a downright painful experience. Such is the case for the newest champion to join the Infinite Crisis line-up: Atomic Green Lantern. Hailing from a destroyed civilization, this Hal Jordan's ring has been powered-up with a radioactive isotope after being mysteriously deactivated (and the subsequent loss of his right arm). Unfortunately, that new power source comes with a cost -- a shorter, more painful life.
In game, Atomic Green Lantern is a melee bruiser with skills that inflict that deadly radiation on others, such as Scorched Earth and Meltdown. Catch some tips and hints for using these skills and more in the Atomic Green Lantern spotlight video after the break.
Do you remember The Mummy Online? It was a browser game by Bigpoint, it was in beta testing, it... you don't, do you? Apparently a lot of people didn't, seeing as how the company is shutting the game down as of today without much fanfare. According to the official announcement, Bigpoint has determined that due to the dropping playerbase it simply made more sense to sink more resources into games with an active group of players rather than trying to revive something slowly drying out.
There's a metaphor in there.
No word has been given on any kind of compensation for players who had spent money on the game. Readers may also note that the game never technically left beta testing, making it one of many titles to fold before an official launch. Our condolences to any gamers or developers affected deeply by this loss.
Waiting until the launch of the latest expansion of your favorite game can be torture -- especially when that expansion adds a new class! Luckily for EverQuest II fans, there's no need to wait until November 12th to get a taste of the new Channeler class, the dragon-themed AAs, or the new zone and dungeons; as of today,Tears of Veeshan is in open beta.
To jump in and check out all the new incoming goodies, players use the live launchpad to change game version and download the entire beta, which requires the same amount of space as the regular game install. Players can even copy characters from the live servers to use on the beta server. Full instructions on the process can be found on the official site.
You've already heard about some of the lore behind Aura Kingdom, the upcoming free-to-play fantasy game set in an anime-style world. So you know a bit about why you do what you do in the game. But how do you do it? That question is answered in part with the title's first class reveal, which in fact involves three different melee classes.
Players who like to get up close and personal with foes during a fight can play as a tank with the Guardian or a damage-dealer with the Duelist or Ravager. The classes are defined by the weapons they specialize in; the Guardian utilizes sword and board, the Duelist dual-wields daggers, and the Ravager uses a great axe. These class weapons and their accompanying skills are what players will use throughout the beginning part of their journeys, but a secondary weapon can be selected at level 40, and that new class can be leveled up just like the first.
Want to learn more? Take a gander at the classes in the gallery below and check out more details in the full dev blog after the break.
Space: The final frontier. Except for double-space, that place is off its rocker, yo! And then there's smurf-space, but that's like normal space only more blue. In this interstellar episode of Massively Speaking, Bree returns from her successful attempt to strongarm a certain studio into finally making a certain space-themed expansion for a certain MMO. We don't even have to tell you which one. It's the one with the levels.
Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to podcast@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air!
Get the podcast: [RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly. [iTunes] Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. [Stitcher] Follow the podcast on Stitcher Radio. Listen here on the page:
Halloween is almost here, if you count half a month away as "almost," and TERA is ready to go with its Halloween event starting on October 17th. That means opening up both a low-level and high-level dungeon as well as adding new ways to earn candy for everyone. It also adds new achievements... along with 182 other new achievements added in the same patch, more rewards for clearing achievements, and improvements to the achievement UI. Yes, there's more to this patch than just pumpkins and ghosts.
The update also has changed the loot distribution of strongboxes, both in terms of what's in the boxes and where you can pick them up. Older types have been retired, and new types have been added with a somewhat smoother distribution of items. Add to that some class balance updates and an assortment of bugfixes, and there's plenty for all TERA players to be happy about aside from the upcoming event.
Trion Worlds has announced a server merge -- er, sorry... shard unification -- for its fantasy MMO RIFT next week. The merge will see three North American and four European shards merge to help eliminate sparse populations, but also to introduce a plan for new language architecture that the team has been working on.
What does that mean? It means that this merge will see a move towards "truly international worlds" for the game where multiple languages will be seamlessly supported on the same shard. A brief FAQ also addresses dupe character and guild names, with Trion offering free name changes for those moved characters and guilds.
The merges begin during the normal scheduled downtime for North America on Wednesday, October 23 and for Europe on Thursday, October 24.
I celebrated my fourth year of working at Massively on the first of October by completely forgetting it happened, like most work anniversaries. That doesn't mean it's not important, though. Working at Massively is a huge way that playing Final Fantasy XI wound up changing my life further on down the road, because now I work at home and get to write silly articles with Star Wars: The Old Republic screenshots serving as header images.
Of course, MMOs have changed my life in other ways just as surely. I've made friends, learned about other places, and found a lot of personal fulfillment in between looking for internet dragons to kill. So what about you guys? Has an MMO ever helped you in real life? Yes, I know, we can all cite horror stories where an MMO made us stay up for three days straight when we didn't want to, but let's be positive here. Has it made your life better?
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!
Let me first wish all of our readers in Canada a very happy Thanksgiving Day! This week I will continue my informal series for new Star Trek Online players with a brief primer on the game's duty officer system. More commonly referred to as DOffs, Star Trek Online's duty officers provide a player with an additional means to obtain XP, dilithium, and other rewards without his having to shoot a single thing.
Many people have likened the DOff system to that of a trading card game, and to an extent they are right. The duty officers have also become a commodity that can be used in other ways outside of the assignment system itself. So join me past the jump as I delve into the very basics of the STO duty officer system.
Star Citizen smashed its $21 and $22 million stretch goals this week, adding the salvaging profession to the game and a facial capture system to the developer's toolbox. The Next Great Starship design contest was also launched this week, offering players the chance to get their ship design featured in the game and win a prize of $30,000.
Datamining from the latest Diablo III test build shows that the previously considered stat caps may no longer be added in the Reaper of Souls expansion, lifesteal may be nerfed, and a new difficulty mode called Torment could be on its way. Path of Exile revealed that two new four-month-long challenge leagues will start when the game officially launches on October 23rd, and developers answered over 100 questions from fans.
League of Legends players on the EU West servers have started a petition demanding compensation for recent server trouble, and new champion Jinx was released this week. SMITE raised over $12,000 for charity with a recent event and overhauled character Hel, the goddess of the underworld. Heroes of Newerth got a new announcer pack voiced by none other than Samuel L. Jackson, and developers on mobile game Dungeon Defenders II have dropped its competitive MOBA element in favour of creating a true sequel to the original game.
You may have heard about War Thunder's ongoing ground combat additions to its primary flight sim experience. What you probably haven't heard -- or seen -- is the Gaijin devs recording various real-world tank and artillery sounds that add to the game's authenticity.
A new video released on the firm's YouTube channel says that over a dozen tanks were recorded "including 40 Stug, Panzer 3 and 4, Sherman M4A3, M4A1, and others." Click past the cut to see the crew and all the heavy artillery hard at work. And don't forget to check out the War Thunder website to see the newly released tank trees!
ArenaNet devs Karl McLain and Roy Cronacher have taken to YouTube to give Guild Wars 2 fans a preview of tomorrow's patch. The duo focuses on "balance, skills, and combat," according to Cronacher, so if you've a hankering for info of that sort, click past the cut to watch the livestream recording.
Be sure to grab yourself a sandwich and a tasty beverage while you're at it, because the video lasts for a whopping 47 minutes!
SOE senior producer Terry Michaels has released a brief video producer's letter that talks about what fans can expect from EQN Landmark over the next few weeks. Michaels says that the devs will be talking about some as-yet-unannounced building tools as well as soliciting player feedback on said tools.
He also mentions SOE's upcoming roundtable livestreams, the first of which is scheduled for this Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, there's more lore on the way including a new novella. Hear what Michaels has to say via the video after the break.
It's been a while since we've seen one of Star Citizen's in-character ship trailers. Fortunately Cloud Imperium released another one over the weekend. The focus this time is on the Roberts Space Industries Aurora, which is something of a newbie ship in terms of gameplay but is nonetheless highly customizable as you'll see when you watch the vid.
The clip clocks in at a smidge under two minutes in length and shows off various loadouts followed by in-engine footage of the Aurora departing from a planetary hangar before blasting into orbit and braving an asteroid field. Have a look-see after the break!
Veteran developer Raph Koster has authored a blog post that's worth a read if you're a game designer. Heck, it's worth a read if you're a game blogger, game player, or anyone else with aspirations on creative output. The topic is criticism, and more specifically, making the most of it.
Koster, best known in MMO circles as one of the minds behind Star Wars Galaxies, Ultima Online, and Metaplace, offers plenty of advice on everything from dealing with people who tell you that you're awesome (these folks are "useless, no, dangerous") to digging for good feedback to the fact that all of your critics are right.
"I've never gotten a piece of feedback that was wrong," Koster explains. "You see, you can't deny a player their unique experience. Whatever they felt was true. For them. And something in your work triggered it." He goes on to say that "self-doubt is one of your most powerful tools for craftsmanship." Aside from having "the arrogance to assume anyone will care in the first place," self-doubt is healthy and necessary because creatives are never done learning.
Things got a bit weird in the League of Legends community last night when a hacker took over Riot Games president Marc Merrill's Twitter account. The intruder, working under the sinister alias, "Jason," used the opportunity to out League of Legends: Supremacy, a collectible card game built from the League of Legends universe.
In a series of tweets from Merrill's account, the hacker posted images and files related to the project including card art and the main sign-in page for the game. According to "Jason," Supremacy was fully completed but never announced or revealed to the League community. Riot did trademark the Supremacy name last year, lending credence to the hacker's claims.
Marc Merrill eventually recovered control of his account, noting, "We're always working on a variety of new ideas for League and beyond. Lots of experimentation that may never see the light of day."
Blizzard's latest entry into the money-printing franchise that is World of Warcraft, collectible card game Hearthstone, is currently chugging along through the closed beta stage of development, and many fans are clamoring for more information as the game nears launch. Well today you're in luck, especially if the animal-loving Hunter is your class of choice, because the devs have just released a new dev diary detailing Hearthstone's playable Hunter character, the legendary Rexxar.
The dev diary dedicates the first half of its entry to the lore of Rexxar the beastmaster, a half-orc, half-ogre from Outland's Blade's Edge Mountains who eventually found himself in Azeroth becoming staunch allies with the Horde warchief Thrall. But let's be real here: We all want to know how he plays. Not to worry, the devs have that covered too. Rexxar's mechanics echo the playstyle of World of Warcraft's Hunter class. He has plenty of tricks and traps available to him, including classics such as Snake Trap and Misdirection. With his longbow in hand, Rexxar unleashes a barrage of ranged attacks while standing safely behind an army of his animal companions, making him a veritable force of nature on the battlefield. For more on Rexxar, click on through the link below.
There's a hole in the heart of every City of Heroes fan, a hole that City of Titans intends to fill. With the game's Kickstarter quickly moving toward half a million dollars of funding (for an unknown team of volunteer developers), a lot of attention is being focused on the project. Project lead Chris Hare sat down to discuss some of the team's goals in a recent interview, both in terms of mirroring and building upon the foundation laid by Paragon Studios.
Hare explains that while the team at Missing Worlds Media wants to recapture the spirit of City of Heroes, there's also a desire to do things that the original game could or would not do. The active combat of Champions Online is cited as an inspiration, as are the public quests of Warhammer Online. At the same time, promising too much and underdelivering is a trap no one wants to fall in. Take a glance at the full interview for more details about how the game promises to evolve while keeping true to its roots.
If you were at New York Comic Con this past weekend, you had the opportunity to see the new animated trailer for SMITE. If you weren't, however... well, maybe you still like animated trailers but don't like going to New York City. For that reason (along with presumably many others) the animated trailer is now available for everyone to view online, embedded just past the break.
The trailer isn't going to offer you any great insights into the intricacies of SMITE's plot, since the whole thing more or less comes down to a bunch of gods beating the stuffing out of one another anyway. But it does certainly set the stage for the game's framing device, and if you like watching gods beating the stuffing out of one another, you don't need that much of an excuse in the first place.
We've gotten some substantial updates about WildStar over the last two weeks. Not as substantial as we might necessarily want, but I don't think anyone realistically expected this much news. Frankly, after an extended drought of worthwhile information, I'm happy to get as much as we have. Some of it has been hinted at before, some of it's completely new, and some of it is both unexpected and highly welcome.
And then we've gotten some hints worth speculating upon, even if we haven't been told what's happening outright. So in the grand tradition of this column guessing at things only to be proven wrong not long thereafter, it's time to analyze and speculate a whole mess of things, starting with the biggest element that I didn't expect from WildStar at all, and that's all the cross-realm features. That's way more intriguing than mere class speculation.
You might think there's not much room left for additional horror in Final Fantasy XIV. The entire game world did get nearly destroyed, after all. But everyone loves a good Halloween event, and it's time to celebrate with a new round of All Saints' Wake festivities. This year, the prize appears to be a set of wonderfully ghostly clothing for all participants, the reward of a quest started by conversing with a set of Shifty Thespians (who are probably completely above-the-board with that name).
The holiday event will run from October 18th until November 1st, allowing for ample time to unleash your inner haunt. If you're not really fond of holiday events, though, you can tide yourself over before the game's first implementation of PvP with a new Wolves' Den trailer from the recent New York Comic Con. It's just past the break and shows off the arena itself as well as some of the battles raging between players
For all the problems of online games, there's a certain assumption that your character is safe no matter what technical problems might hit the server. Sure, Grand Theft Auto Online has had some growing pains, but if your character vanishes for some reason you can still -- wait, no, apparently your character is lost forever and will never return to you. That's kind of the opposite of news you were hoping for. So in the hopes that you'll be distracted, Rockstar is throwing half a million dollars at you.
Two payments of $250,000 in-game will be provided to players on two distinct dates, hopefully by the end of next week. While this won't exactly replace the time and effort lost via vanishing characters, it should at least take the edge off of Grand Theft Auto Online's unexpected problems.
Or how I learned to stop worrying and accept Windows 8
No class action suits for you!
See how the HAF Stacker stacks up
Earning street cred for CPU graphics
Start making contingency plans for 2023
How low will it go?
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 
