General Gaming Article

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• SanDisk Extreme II 480GB SSD Review
• NZXT Kraken X60 Review
• HP Spectre XT TouchSmart Review
• Microsoft Admits That Some Xbox One Disk Drives Are Having Problems
• Official EVGA Version of Catzilla Benchmark Now Available to Download
• Lenovo's Flex 10 Laptop Brings Bay Trail to Town for $550
• Valve Starts Testing Steam Reviews in Open Beta, Gives Gamers a Voice
• Intel Demonstrates First 64-bit Android Tablet
• Google Responds to Microsoft's Scroogled Campaign with Witty Retort
• Newegg Daily Deal: Thermaltake Water 2.0 All-in-One Cooler, CM GX 650W PSU, and More!

SanDisk Extreme II 480GB SSD Review Posted: 25 Nov 2013 03:57 PM PST Second swing at Extreme SSD scores a hit The last time we saw the SanDisk Extreme SSD it wasn't exactly "extreme." It was a fine drive and all, and we awarded it a "what a nice boy" verdict of 8 because it was decent, but it didn't blow off our anti-static leashes or anything. The problem was it was a "me, too" SSD, using 24nm toggle NAND and an LSI SandForce SF-2281 controller, which was all the rage in the ancient SSD era of 2012. Times have changed though, and SandForce isn't the only game in town anymore. SSD manufacturers are now trying to separate themselves from the pack of wannabes by going with different combinations of controllers and NAND flash, and that's the tactic SanDisk has employed this time around by changing both the NAND flash and the controller, making the SanDisk Extreme II SSD an all-new drive. The Extreme II offers relatively extreme performance, but not in all benchmarks. At the heart of the new drive beats Marvell's third-generation SSD controller, the 88SS9187 "Monet," released this year and found so far in the Crucial M500 and Plextor M5 Pro SSDs. It offers eight NAND channels and supports up to 1GB of external DDR3 memory (external to the controller, not the SSD). Inside the drive's belly is new 19nm SanDisk toggle NAND, which is also being used by Corsair and Seagate in their newest SSDs. The NAND is rated for 3,000 program/erase cycles, which works out to roughly 80 terabytes written over the course of the drive's life. That's about 40GB of writes per day, which would be considered enough data-writing to warrant an intervention by family and friends. The drive also comes with a five-year warranty— superb—but a fairly bare-bones drive utility that shows you smart values and updates firmware—not superb. The most unique attribute of the Extreme II is what SanDisk calls Tiered Caching, which utilizes both volatile DDR RAM and non-volatile SLC NAND for cache, instead of just DDR like most SSDs on the market (besides SandForce drives, which never used external cache). The secondary SLC NAND cache helps with small writes, which are common in desktop workloads, as they are written to the SLC NAND in groups at high speed before being written to the MLC NAND, resulting in improved performance. We saw that improvement in our Sony Vegas test, which encodes a 20GB video file to the SSD as fast as it can handle it—the Extreme II completed the test in record time. Its sequential-read and -write speeds were also quite good with compressed and incompressible data, putting it shoulder-to-shoulder with the fastest drives available. It scored surprisingly low in PCMark Vantage, however, and its 32QD IOPS score of 40K-plus was about half what its counterparts could produce, harming the Extreme II's overall ranking. Though the Extreme II isn't quite as fast overall as the Samsung 840 Pro, it is much less expensive, and it's slightly faster than the Corsair Neutron GTX, just not in all tests, making it an overall much-better-than-average drive, but not Kick Ass. $440, www.sandisk.com

NZXT Kraken X60 Review Posted: 25 Nov 2013 03:35 PM PST X marks the spot In the world of enthusiast system cooling, water is the new black. Even the fanciest, biggest air cooler can't seem to keep up with a good closed-loop liquid cooler these days. NZXT ups the ante by expanding from the standard 12cm form factor to 14cm. It may not seem like much, but the increased surface area gets impressive results, especially when the Kraken X60 doubles it to 28cm. In Norwegian mythology, a kraken is a giant sea monster similar to a squid. This super-size beast won't fit in most older cases, though. You can check NZXT's website to see if yours is worthy, but it's not a comprehensive chart. There are also two different standards for fan spacing right now: 15mm and 20mm. This is the size of the gap between the screw holes of adjacent fans; 15mm puts the fans right against each other, while 20mm leaves a little space. The X60 is a 15mm cooler. You can't knock NZXT for creating a part that doesn't fit everywhere—it's just something to be aware of before you start flinging your money around. Installation is pretty breezy. You snap a bracket onto the pump, put some screws into the bracket, and then set this arrangement down on the CPU socket. The bracket captures the screws so they don't fall out during installation. However, the capturing mechanism is difficult to undo if you accidentally insert the nearly identical-looking LGA2011 screws instead of the LGA1150/1155 versions (why vendors can't color-code the screws we don't know). LGA1155/1150 and AMD motherboards get a plastic backplate, which is not ideal; the metal bits you insert into the backplate (to secure the screws you've attached to the pump) could get twisted out of place and strip the hole, making it difficult to install the screws securely. It would be nice to see a metal backplate, like on the similar Corsair H100i. However, it's nice that the screws are designed to tighten abruptly, so you're unlikely to crack the backplate from excessive torque. As for cabling, it's pretty straightforward. All wires are integrated into the pump, and the fan connectors, USB cable (to communicate with the fan control software), and SATA cable (to power the pump) are long enough for a variety of case layouts. They're even sleeved in classy black braiding. The liquid tubing is also long, flexible, and rubberized. We discovered right away that the extra size of this radiator and its fans gave us a combination of impressive cooling and impressive noise level. Even with our internal testing tool thrashing the CPU harder than Prime95, the X60 never rose above a moderate drone when set to Silent mode—while holding a 4.13GHz i7-3960X overclock to the mid-60s Celsius. Its dual fans hovered around 975rpm during this test. We could force them up to 1,500rpm by engaging Extreme mode, but it was super loud and only lowered temps by 4 C. There's also a Custom mode where you can chart several points where you want the fan speeds to be at certain temperatures. Compared to the H100i, it's a tough call; the X60 gets a slight edge for not needing a firmware update (or needing to search Google for one) and having the control software bundled on a CD. Both items make setting up a new computer much easier. But at the $120 level, a metal backplate isn't too much to ask for. $120 (street), www.nzxt.com

HP Spectre XT TouchSmart Review Posted: 25 Nov 2013 03:24 PM PST 15.6-inch Ultrabook both delights and disappoints The Spectre XT TouchSmart is HP's creme-de-la-creme consumer Ultrabook. In some ways, it lives up to that lofty mantle; in others, it doesn't. The notebook is attractive all right, in a brushed-metal-chassis, black-island-keyboard kind of way. We also like that the interior is free of branding, save the Beats Audio logo on the speaker grill. But if the term "Ultrabook" conjures up images of dainty thin-and-lightness, the Spectre TouchSmart XT will cure you of that. The 15.6-inch all-aluminum body looks sleek enough—and its .87-inch height is within Intel's Ultrabook specification—but its lap weight of nearly five pounds (close to six pounds with the power brick) will surprise you with its heft. At least it did us. The notebook's quad speakers—two up top and two underneath—get pretty loud, but even the Beats audio won't have you ditching your headphones. Nevertheless, there are advantages that conceivably offset the weight issues. The Spectre XT TouchSmart offers a relatively large display, keyboard, and touchpad, all of which impressed us with their quality. The display, framed by the slimmest of bezels, is an IPS panel with 1920x1080 resolution and a crisp, colorful picture. The keyboard seems spacious, the keys have decent travel by island-style standards, and we had no problems typing at a brisk pace. It's also backlit, natch. The glass-surface touchpad feels wonderful. The large body also accommodates a bunch of ports, including Ethernet, HDMI, two USB 3.0, and—as proof of the Spectre's elevated status—a Thunderbolt port. Given the Spectre XT's size and weight, you might expect to find an optical drive, but it lacks that. Under the hood, the Spectre XT TouchSmart loses some luster. Its 1.9GHz i7-3517U should give the notebook some performance chops, but in our benchmarks, the CPU never came close to its 3GHz Turbo Boost potential, producing scores that were 30 percent lower than a competing notebook with the same CPU. It was even bested by HP's own budget-minded Envy 4, which had a slightly lower-clocked 1.7GHz Core i5-3317U and half the RAM. We'd expect this kind of performance throttling from a more space-constrained body; or maybe HP was primarily interested in keeping fan noise at bay, because the Spectre XT TouchSmart is certainly quiet even under heavy load. The questionable component choices continue, with primary storage handled by a 500GB 5,400rpm HDD plus a 32GB SSD cache drive. That seems a bit pedestrian for a premium product. At least the cache enables SSD-like boots and restarts, 13 and 22 seconds, respectively. Theoretically, it should also speed up the performance in commonly used programs but we didn't experience any noticeable improvement in repeated runs of CrystalDiskMark—results were consistently in line with an HDD's limits. Battery life was also unimpressive, totaling just three hours, 20 minutes in our high-def video rundown test. Granted, as far as "premium" notebooks go, $1,400 isn't that high a price. The fancy-schmancy Toshiba Kirabook that we reviewed last month was two grand. And like that one, the Spectre XT comes with Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements, two years of Norton AV, and dedicated support service. But still we're left wondering how premium a notebook this is when it's kind of heavy to carry, performance is somewhat compromised, and battery life is weak. $1,400, www.hp.com

Microsoft Admits That Some Xbox One Disk Drives Are Having Problems Posted: 25 Nov 2013 03:15 PM PST Damaged disks not included The Xbox One broke all sorts of Xbox first-day sales records when it launched last Friday with over 1 million units sold across the 13 territories it launched in. It isn't the Red Ring of Death, but Microsoft has acknowledged that it's aware that a small subset of users is affected by broken disk drives. "The issue is affecting a very small number of Xbox One customers. We're working directly with those affected to get a replacement console to them as soon as possible through our advance exchange program. Rest assured, we are taking care of our customers," said a Microsoft representative to IGN.  It's been eight years since the launch of the Xbox 360 which was marred by the infamous Red Ring of Death. Users have also reported the usual laundry list of problems: random crashes, restarts, and blank screens. Over 150 gamers reported disk drive issues to Kotaku. Sony's PlayStation 4 has had its fair share of problems too with users complaining about a "blue light of death."

Official EVGA Version of Catzilla Benchmark Now Available to Download Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:33 PM PST Download the 720p version for free Are you an EVGA fan? Do you love the Catzilla benchmark? If so, get ready to have your mind explode, because EVGA has teamed up with ALLBenchmark, makers of the popular Catzilla benchmark, to release an official EVGA version. Pretty wicked, right? Just as with the regular Catzilla benchmark, you can download the EVGA Catzilla benchmark free, though testing is limited to 720p (HD). That's something to be aware of before spending time downloading the 500MB benchmark. However, if you're willing to pony up a bit of green (dollars, not catnip), you can order the Basic ($1.49) or Advanced ($4.99) version from within the benchmark. The Basic upgrade adds Full HD 1080p testing, along with PC configuration recommendations, the ability to record your last score for each profile on toplists, and the ability to upload scores to Facebook. If you step up to the Advanced version, you get the same upgrades, plus 1440p testing, custom parameters, the ability to send your score HWBot and other sites, archiving, and the ability to save scores to disk and manually upload to ALLBenchmark's website. Interested? If so, you can download the EVGA version of Catzilla from EVGA's website, or watch the video below if you just want to see what it looks like. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Lenovo's Flex 10 Laptop Brings Bay Trail to Town for $550 Posted: 25 Nov 2013 12:19 PM PST A notebook with a split personality There's not much fanfare surrounding the launch of Lenovo's new Flex 10 laptop with Intel's Bay Trail architecture inside. Perhaps that's because the Flex line itself isn't new, though the 10-inch model hasn't been released before. The Flex 10 features a 10.1-inch touchscreen display with a 1366x768 (HD) resolution. What's unique about the Flex 10 is that the screen flips 300 degrees into stand mode so that you can tap away at the display. Otherwise, it sits like a normal laptop with Lenovo's AccuType keyboard and multitouch touchpad that's optimized for Windows 8. The laptop itself is less than an inch thick and weighs under 3 pounds, Lenovo says. The guts of the machine is comprised of up to an Intel quad-core Pentium N3510 processor, up to 4GB of DDR3L memory, up to 500GB of storage, and integrated graphics. It also has two USB ports (1 x USB 3.0 and 1 x USB 2.0), HDMI output, an audio combo jack, stereo speakers, Bluetooth 4.0, 802.11n Wi-Fi, 720p webcam, and Windows 8.1. Pricing for Lenovo's Flex 10 laptop starts at $550. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Valve Starts Testing Steam Reviews in Open Beta, Gives Gamers a Voice Posted: 25 Nov 2013 11:30 AM PST Share your gaming experience with others on Steam Want to help other gamers make informed purchasing decisions? Valve is giving you an expanded voice on Steam to leave reviews, good or bad, of any game you've played. Simply called Steam Reviews, the beta launch of this new initiative is an evolution of the Recommendation system that has been a part of Steam since 2010. If you're written Recommendations before, you can make them visible as Reviews by changing the appropriate setting in your user profile. "Users considering a purchase on Steam may now browse reviews from friends and the community, leave comments on reviews, and indicate which reviews they found helpful," Valve explains. "Once a user has played a game or used a software title on Steam, they are able to write a review of that product and share their experience with everyone on Steam." The reviews don't create an overall score or rating for a particular game at this time, though Valve is looking to implement that feature sometime during the beta. Also, it's not necessary to have purchased a game through Steam to leave a review, though you do have to launch it via Steam. Developers are able to respond to reviews, though they can't delete a user review, at least not directly. They can report reviews they find abusive or offense, as can other users, which will draw the attention of a moderator to make a final decision. The Steam Reviews beta is open to any Steam user. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Intel Demonstrates First 64-bit Android Tablet Posted: 25 Nov 2013 09:27 AM PST Moving to 64-bit could introduce big performance gains in some apps Intel has a lot of catching up to do in the mobile space. The big dog on campus in mobile is ARM, which powers many of the smartphones and tablets currently available. One thing Intel is looking at to change the tide is 64-bit computing in mobile, which it demonstrated during an investor meeting. The demonstration consisted of an Android tablet with a 64-bit Atom processor inside based on Silvermont. It's the first Android tablet to run a 64-bit chip, though not the first 64-bit tablet -- that distinction belongs to Apple's iPad Air, which is based on the Cupertino company's custom A7 SoC. According to Intel, simply moving to a 64-bit architecture is enough to improve performance by up to 40 percent in some applications, including Photoshop. "What we are doing with our product roadmap and SoCs is that we drive to lower costs and profitable stages But that is not enough What we really want to do is to take a lot of the innovation and differentiation we are able to do up on the PC and bring that down into tablets," Intel chief Brian Krzanich said, according to XBitLabs. Performance alone won't be enough for Intel to dominate mobile. Intel is also looking at making tablets cheaper. In fact, Intel says you'll see tablets with its hardware inside selling for below $100 this holiday season. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Google Responds to Microsoft's Scroogled Campaign with Witty Retort Posted: 25 Nov 2013 08:37 AM PST A battle of wits Microsoft has a bug in its shorts over Google's dominance in the search space and figured the way to stomp it out is by attacking its rival in a snarky campaign called "Scroogled." The Redmond software giant is going all out here by not only dedicating a website to calling Google out for various privacy shenanigans, but also selling a line of Scroogled products, including coffee mugs, hoodies, hats, and t-shirts. "Keep calm while we steal your data" is the tagline found beneath Google's Chrome logo on some of the Scroogled products up for sale. It's yet another play on the "Keep Calm and Carry On" motivational poster produced by the British government a few months ahead of World War II. So, what does Google have to say about all this? "Microsoft's latest venture comes as no surprise; competition in the wearables space really is heating up," Google said in a statement, according to the Los Angeles Times. Oomph, talk about a knuckle shot to the jejunum. Google's witty retort points out that while the sultan of search is focusing on the future with its Google Glass wearable device, Microsoft's version of "wearables" boils down to some basic clothing, once again falling behind the competition. Microsoft isn't necessarily wrong with some of its claims against Google, but this is the sort of thing that happens when you poke the bear. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Newegg Daily Deal: Thermaltake Water 2.0 All-in-One Cooler, CM GX 650W PSU, and More! Posted: 25 Nov 2013 06:23 AM PST Top Deal: It's bad. It's so bad. There's coolant all over the place -- on your video card, all across your motherboard, and even splashed up into your hard drive. And was that a blue spark you saw before you pulled the plug? Just when you tally up how much you spent on your home brewed water cooling setup, you wake up in a cold sweat and realize it was just an awful dream. Phew! Now that you've been given a second chance, why not try an all-in-one liquid cooling system? If it's a no-fuss liquid cooler you're after, have a look at today's top deal for a Thermaltake CLW0217 Water 2.0 Extreme/All-in-One Liquid Cooling System for $80 with free shipping (normally $100; additional $25 mail-in-rebate). It's quiet, effective, and easy to install! Other Deals: Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Mechanical PC Gaming Keyboard– Cherry MX Blue (RZ03-00381900-R3U1) for $110 with free shipping (normally $140) Cooler Master GX - 650W Power Supply with 80 PLUS Bronze Certification for $90 (normally $100 additional $20 Mail-in rebate) Thermaltake Chaser Series Chaser MK-I (VN300M1W2N) Black SECC ATX Full Tower Computer Case for $125 with free shipping (normally $160 additional $25 Mail-in rebate) HIS IceQ H787Q2G2M Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card for $170 with free shipping (normally $210 additional $30 Mail-in rebate)

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MMO Updates

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• Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's new Starfleet tutorial
• Age of Wushu tours the Forbidden Grounds in new trailer
• Lightning strikes in Path of Exile's update 1.0.2
• Chaos Theory: The dark side of The Secret World's Issue 8
• The Stream Team: Thanks for the cranberries edition, November 25 - December 1, 2013
• APB: Reloaded brings loads of new free content with Version 14
• The Daily Grind: Do you keep a bunch of MMOs installed at all times?
• MMO Week in Review: Expansions, birthdays, and sunsets
• EVE Evolved: First impressions of Rubicon

Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's new Starfleet tutorial Posted: 25 Nov 2013 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, Captain's Log Star Trek Online recently revealed a freshly revamped tutorial for players who create new Starfleet characters. This week I had the opportunity to check the new material out for myself, so I rolled a new toon and experienced what it is like to have greatness thrust upon me! What? You don't believe me? It's true! My character went from academy graduate to captain of a Starfleet vessel in a matter of minutes! Oh wait, I guess that's not so surprising; even Captain James T. Kirk did it in an alternate universe. The fact of the matter is there's no easy way, story-wise, to get a new player's character into the command chair in a completely convincing manner. I'll be explaining how it all happens, so if you want to remain surprised about anything in the new Star Trek Online Starfleet tutorial, avert your eyes for the remaining portion of this away mission. But do me a favor and scroll down anyway, look at the pictures, and pretend to read it. It'll make me feel better. The rest of you are with me. Engage. Continue reading Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's new Starfleet tutorial Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's new Starfleet tutorial originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 25 Nov 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Age of Wushu tours the Forbidden Grounds in new trailer Posted: 25 Nov 2013 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Trailers, Video, Expansions, News Items, Sandbox, Dungeons, Age of Wushu Although Age of Wushu's Ultimate Scrolls expansion launched two weeks ago, you may not have had the chance to experience the scenery (and the dangers that hide therein) of the Forbidden Grounds. Even if you have seen your own school's special instance, you likely have not peeked into the unique vistas of the other seven since each is available to members only. Now, thanks to Snail Games' latest trailer and eight new screenshots, you can see the unique designs of each instance that reflect the soul of its respective school. Take a two-minute stroll through the beautiful landscapes in the Forbidden Grounds in the video below. [Source: Snail Games press release] Continue reading Age of Wushu tours the Forbidden Grounds in new trailer Age of Wushu tours the Forbidden Grounds in new trailer originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 25 Nov 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Lightning strikes in Path of Exile's update 1.0.2 Posted: 25 Nov 2013 07:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Historical, Video, Game Mechanics, Patches, News Items, Path of Exile Just one look at Path of Exile's newest content update preview video from Grinding Gear Games and you know that the upcoming patch sizzles -- literally. Update 1.0.2 includes the new skill Stormcall which allows players to call lightning down upon multiple or single targets. Along with a new skill, the patch is introducing five more unique items (including Wings of Entropy, a unique two-handed sundering ax that acts like duel-wielded axes) and some map mod changes. Players can also buy new items from the store, such as a lightning bat pet and -- for one week only -- special Pilgrim's hats to celebrate Thanksgiving. Content update 1.0.2 releases this Wednesday, but you can get a peek at it in the video below. More information on the patch will be posted on the official site soon. Continue reading Lightning strikes in Path of Exile's update 1.0.2 Lightning strikes in Path of Exile's update 1.0.2 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 25 Nov 2013 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments 1.0.2 video preview

Chaos Theory: The dark side of The Secret World's Issue 8 Posted: 25 Nov 2013 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Horror, Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, Patches, Opinion, The Secret World, Chaos Theory, Buy-to-Play Last week MJ espoused her belief that The Secret World Issue 8's scenarios are a terrific addition to the game and worthy of your consideration. As much fun as she's been having, my own experiences have been middling-to-poor with Issue 8. In my opinion, this is the first Issue that's really stumbled in terms of accessibility and quality. Part of that was to be expected. Issue 8 is, let's face it, a stalling tactic so Funcom can finish up the first half of Tokyo. It's busy work for the community in the guise of a "certification" as well as an AP/SP sink for those of us who have filled out most (or all) of our skill wheel and need some other form of character growth. Mind you, while Issue 8 has stumbled, it's not a travesty. I actually appreciate the idea of a new form of group content that's repeatable, and it's exciting to get a glimpse into the mysterious Council of Venice. But I do want to look at a few failings of this update and how Funcom could improve matters. Continue reading Chaos Theory: The dark side of The Secret World's Issue 8 Chaos Theory: The dark side of The Secret World's Issue 8 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 25 Nov 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Stream Team: Thanks for the cranberries edition, November 25 - December 1, 2013 Posted: 25 Nov 2013 06:00 AM PST Filed under: MMO Industry, Massively Meta, Livestream, Miscellaneous, The Stream Team You may have heard the saying as "Thanks for the memories," but I counter that it would be more appropriate to say "Thanks for the cranberries" at this time of year. Why, you ask? Because Thanksgiving just isn't Thanksgiving without cranberry sauce, even if nobody likes it except for that one uncle. That cranberry sauce is just a part of the variety of the traditional holiday feast, just as different games are a part of our whole MMO spread. Maybe not everyone likes the cranberry game (you know, if we look hard enough I bet we can find a game all about cranberries!), but it is there for those who do. How boring would feasting/life/gaming be without all the glorious choices to sample, gorge on, and enjoy? And just think how dull it would be if The Stream Team had only turkey and stuffing to show on Massively TV. Life sans cranberry sauce would be bad! Wouldn't you agree? Something to contemplate while checking out this week's schedule. Continue reading The Stream Team: Thanks for the cranberries edition, November 25 - December 1, 2013 The Stream Team: Thanks for the cranberries edition, November 25 - December 1, 2013 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 25 Nov 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

APB: Reloaded brings loads of new free content with Version 14 Posted: 25 Nov 2013 05:30 AM PST Filed under: Patches, Free-to-Play, All Points Bulletin, Crime The team at GamersFirst's Reloaded Productions has been busy on the newest update to APB: Reloaded as the crime-based MMO hits Version 14 today. This latest free content update introduces two new contacts that offer 20 more levels of high-level progression, a radar tower car mod that lets you see when enemies pass by your vehicle, a blowtorch weapon, remote detonators, additional slot unlocks, and much more. In addition to the free content, Version 14 also introduces a new purchasable bundle that includes the Rocker Outfit, the TAS20 Shotgun, and the Vegas G20 Muscle Car and Body Kit. If you're a Steam player, this update introduces two new packs: the New Blood Pack with 14 days premium time and some nice starter weapons, and the Key to the City Pack that gives an impressive collection of high-end cars, guns, gear, designs, and emotes. [Source: GamersFirst press release] APB: Reloaded brings loads of new free content with Version 14 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 25 Nov 2013 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Do you keep a bunch of MMOs installed at all times? Posted: 25 Nov 2013 05:00 AM PST Filed under: MMO Industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind I just did some Spring cleaning on my hard drive. I know it's November, but work with me here. Instead of reinstalling absolutely every video game I had prior, I've opted to purge the dead weight. That leaves me with a handful of MMO dabblers and a whole bunch of extra space. As for the dabblers, they are: DC Universe Online, Lord of the Rings Online, PlanetSide 2, The Secret World, Final Fantasy XIV, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and War Thunder. What about you, Massively readers? Do you keep a bunch of MMOs on your machine in case you feel the urge? 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! The Daily Grind: Do you keep a bunch of MMOs installed at all times? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 25 Nov 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

MMO Week in Review: Expansions, birthdays, and sunsets Posted: 24 Nov 2013 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Massively Meta, Week in Review, Miscellaneous 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. If you could pull your eyes away from your shiny new consoles, then you would know that MMOs also deserve your attention, even if they can't say hello to you from across the room or spy underneath your hoodie. This week, EVE Online launched its Rubicon expansion, World of Warcraft turned nine years old, EverQuest Mac's servers went dark permanently, and after a brief delay, Lord of the Rings Online opened the gates for Helm's Deep. Er, opened the gates for you to defend Helm's Deep. That makes more sense. Read on for a look at the rest of this week's top MMO stories. Continue reading MMO Week in Review: Expansions, birthdays, and sunsets MMO Week in Review: Expansions, birthdays, and sunsets originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 24 Nov 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: First impressions of Rubicon Posted: 24 Nov 2013 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Economy, Expansions, Game Mechanics, Patches, Previews, PvP, Endgame, Opinion, Hands-On, First Impressions, EVE Evolved, Sandbox, Player-Generated Content, Subscription For years I've been writing that EVE Online needs more deployable sandbox structures that any player can use, so I was naturally pretty excited to hear that this was to be one of the key features of the Rubicon expansion. The Mobile Depot sounded like a great freeform sandbox tool when it was announced, but I didn't understand quite how awesome it was until I started setting up my own. While the depot is ostensibly a fancy item container with a ship fitting service, anchoring one feels almost like planting your flag in space, and spotting another depot on the directional scanner means war. I've spent this week exploring low-security space in the new Stratios Sisters of EVE faction cruiser, stealing rare moon minerals with a Siphon Unit, and desperately searching for the elusive but valuable ghost sites. As expected, players have already found some creative uses for the new personal deployable structures: Mobile Depots are being used as advertising billboards in Jita and to bait aggressive players into becoming flagged as criminal suspects, Mobile Tractor Units have seen some unorthodox usage outside of missions, and the Siphon Unit will literally print money if you find an unsecured moon-mining operation tucked away in space. In this week's EVE Evolved, I test-drive the Rubicon expansion's new structures to find out if they live up to expectations. Continue reading EVE Evolved: First impressions of Rubicon EVE Evolved: First impressions of Rubicon originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 24 Nov 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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MMORPG News

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• General: This Week's Live Stream Schedule
• EVE Online: Rubicon Certainly Feels Compelling
• Age of Wushu: New Trailer Shows Off the Forbidden Grounds
• Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn: Housing Detailed in New Preview

General: This Week's Live Stream Schedule Posted: 25 Nov 2013 06:09 AM PST Join our happy band of live streamers at any of the given times below to check out some of today's hottest MMOs. Head to MMORPG.com Streams page to participate.

EVE Online: Rubicon Certainly Feels Compelling Posted: 23 Nov 2013 04:30 PM PST Rubicon, EVE Online's 2013 Winter Expansion, was recently released and we've taken the new content for a spin. See what we thought of our time in Rubicon before leaving your own impressions in the comments.

Age of Wushu: New Trailer Shows Off the Forbidden Grounds Posted: 25 Nov 2013 05:56 AM PST The Age of Wushu expansion, Ultimate Scrolls, has been released. In it, players are taken into private instances based on their particular school of mastery. In a new trailer, Snail Games shows off the Forbidden Grounds to give viewers a taste of what they might encounter. Check it out!

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn: Housing Detailed in New Preview Posted: 25 Nov 2013 05:53 AM PST The Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Lodestone has been updated with a great housing preview. Free Company Housing is one of the components of next month's patch that many players are looking forward to. The preview goes through the process of purchasing land, getting a housing permit and how to customize a Free Company's housing to suit. Individual housing will come at a later date.

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