General Gaming Article

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• What a Twist: Notch Challenges Bethesda to Quake Match to Settle “Scrolls” Lawsuit
• Victory? – Ubisoft Sort of Changes Driver's Always On DRM
• Future Tense: The Future of Crime
• Toys For Geeks: 20 Great Gifts for any Mini-Nerd
• Windows Phone 7 App of the Week: IM+
• Netflix Expanding into Piracy-Heavy Spain
• Dell Makes Thinnest Monitor Yet with S2330MX
• Sneak a Peek at EVGA's GeForce GTX 580 Classifed (Final Revision)
• The U.S. Patent System Is Killing Innovation
• How To Save Your Game Data When You Change Hard Drives

What a Twist: Notch Challenges Bethesda to Quake Match to Settle “Scrolls” Lawsuit Posted: 17 Aug 2011 07:27 PM PDT You can't knock Minecraft creator Notch for being unoriginal. First he, you know, created Minecraft, and now he's bringing BFGs to a word fight. That's right: he wants to end this whole "Scrolls" brouhaha by battling it out in Quake 3. Perhaps the most hilarious part of all, though? This is no laughing matter. On no uncertain terms, Notch has said that he's "serious" about this. "Remember that scene in Game of Thrones where Tyrion chose a trial by battle in the Eyrie? Well, let's do that instead," Notch said on his blog. "I challenge Bethesda to a game of Quake 3. Three of our best warriors against three of your best warriors. We select one level, you select the other, we randomize the order. 20 minute matches, highest total frag count per team across both levels wins." "If we win, you drop the lawsuit. If you win, we will change the name of Scrolls to something you're fine with." He added, however, that he'd include a disclaimer in his game that clearly points out the lack of affiliation regardless of the outcome. And, of course: "I am serious, by the way." So, consider the gauntlet thrown. Now then, anyone up for wagering the rights to Firefly on a quick StarCraft II match? This is a brave new world we're walking into. Let's milk it for all it's worth.

Victory? – Ubisoft Sort of Changes Driver's Always On DRM Posted: 17 Aug 2011 06:54 PM PDT PC gamers the world over face-palmed hard enough to create a seismic event when they heard that Ubisoft was planning to seriously cool Driver: San Francisco's engine with a heaping dose of its reviled "always on" DRM. There was anger, which led to hate, which... well, we wouldn't be surprised if a few new dark Jedi were born of this whole incident. Ubisoft, though, claims to have finally heard our plight. But has it? Has it really? "We've heard your feedback regarding the permanent internet connection requirement for Driver and have made the decision to no longer include it. So this means that Driver PC gamers will only need to sign in at game launch but can subsequently choose to play the game offline," a Ubisoft rep told RPS. So then, that's a long-overdue nail in the coffin of the most egregious bit, but Ubi's speedy racer is still taking baby steps. As RPS points out, if you're not able to wrangle a working Internet connection to begin with, you're still out of luck. After all, no launch, no dice. So, Ubisoft, you claim that you finally listened. Can you maybe try listening a little harder next time?

Future Tense: The Future of Crime Posted: 17 Aug 2011 04:34 PM PDT Back in the 70s and 80s and well into the 90s, if you had a high-end stereo in your car, it was a target for any thief who could peek in the window. You could come out from the movie or the restaurant and find a window broken and the stereo pried out of your dashboard. Auto-stereo manufacturers responded by building detachable faceplates. Without the code-matched faceplate, the stereo was useless. Stereo thefts dropped. But thefts of other objects—like rims—rose. During those same years, car-theft also became a major crime problem. Chop shops sold parts, or cars were smuggled out of country. So auto-makers started building anti-theft technology into their vehicles. They made it harder to break into a car, harder to hot-wire it, harder to start. Today, the Toyota Prius uses a coded-RFID fob instead of a key. If the fob is in your pocket, the car will unlock and start for you. Putting Lo-Jack into a car makes it possible for the police to track a stolen vehicle almost immediately. But while all this anti-theft technology had the intended result of reducing thefts of newer vehicles, it also had the unintended consequence of increasing car-jackings—because if you can't break into a car, you have to wait till someone else opens it for you. You wave a gun at the person, pull them out of the car, and drive away in it. (And hope you can get to the chop shop before the Lo-Jack starts pinging.) The electronics revolution is changing the nature of enforcement. Security cameras, tracking devices, micro-chips and other anti-theft measures are making it harder than ever to steal things and even harder to profit from that theft. Security cameras may be the most obvious technological measure. On July 6, 2011, a guy walked into a San Francisco museum and stole a Picasso drawing off the wall. As he hurried away with his prize, he was videoed by the security camera of a nearby restaurant. One of their cameras was focused on the sidewalk and the video of him scurrying off with the drawing under his arm was clear enough to make an ID. He was arrested on July 7. On July 3, 2011, a gas station mini-store was looted by a mob of teens in Riverwest, Wisconsin. The security cameras caught many of their faces. When the video was shown on TV, 8 teens turned themselves in. The mother of two more teens turned them into the police as well. In August of 2010, a teenage girl uploaded a video of herself throwing puppies into a river. By September of 2010, she had been identified and arrested in Bosnia. Police did not release her name for fear of threats to her and her family. And of course, for sheer stupidity, there was that woman in England, also August of 2010, caught on video dumping a neighbor's cat into a trash bin. A lot of this can be found on YouTube, but there are also several fascinating cable-TV shows about people like this: World's Worst Drivers. World's Dumbest Criminals. People who do not realize that cameras are everywhere. Not just security cameras either. Whatever stupid thing you do, there's probably somebody pointing a cell phone at you. It can be uploaded to Facebook or YouTube almost immediately. And with cell phones now capable of HD-resolution video, your misdeeds will be seen by the whole world. Right now, security cameras are still a pricy add-on to your house or your car, but it's worth remembering that car radios, stereos, air-conditioning, cruise-control, and GPS devices all started as add-ons, evolving into standard equipment over time. Security cameras, Lo-Jack, and On-Star tracking will likely be standard items before this decade is over. Security systems for the home will become more prevalent as prices drop and installation becomes easier. Online validation is another weapon against crime. Suppose a truckload of brand new laptops is hijacked. But if all those laptops will automatically brick themselves the first time they connect to the internet, there's little profit for the thieves and no point in hijacking the machines. (Will users refuse to purchase any electronics until they see them turned on and working?) But this means that your laptop—like much of your software (Windows 7)—will be constantly checking to make sure it's legal. Locater chips will also be an important weapon in the security battle. Imagine a chip that functions as an RFID and a GPS-locater and a 4G transceiver. Suppose you could walk into Fry's and buy a pack of these chips. You go online and enter the serial number of each chip and whatever valuable item you have attached it to, your iPad, your Canon 5D, your Lenovo X1, your Trek bicycle, your Gibson guitar, your authentic tribble prop from Star Trek, and even inside Fluffy's collar or your son's backpack. The chip only activates when it's pinged. Suppose Fluffy goes missing or your daughter stays out too late. You run the locater app on your smartphone and it shows you a map, showing Fluffy's movements in real-time—or your teenager's. While parents would certainly appreciate having such an ability to check on their children, I'm equally certain that privacy advocates will be horrified at this use of the technology. Personal tracking technology will probably be an issue that the courts will struggle with for many years to come. Consider Four Square. Are police required to get a warrant for personal-tracking? Or is that considered publicly available information? What about your personal devices? Your cell phone and your laptop can be pinged, so can your car if it has Lo-Jack. Where will the lines be drawn? Image courtesy Ikeeda.com Expanding technology is giving us near-universal surveillance, making detection of crimes and apprehension of criminals a lot easier. Crime rates will continue to drop and criminal activities will evolve in response. And that's when the law of unintended consequences kicks in big time. We will likely see criminal enterprises based on blanking, hacking, and even counterfeiting locater chips—hacking the hardware will let them find out where the easy-to-steal Hondas are parked. The intention is to expand our security, and this will slow down the stupid criminals, but we will also be sacrificing another level of privacy—and also creating another set of possible vulnerabilities for smart criminals to exploit. And oh, yes—all those those little tracking chips will also become a massive database, not only of individual behavior, but also of demographic movements of whole classes of people. If Google or Amazon or Facebook can legally access that information, it will broaden their reach into our private lives. These companies already personalize the ads that you're presented with. What will they do with access to even more detailed tracking? What will the government do? For most of us, that's not going to be an issue. We've already accepted so many of these myriad little invasions as conveniences. But for people who have become persons of interest to the law—convicted criminals, parolees, people on probation, and even those considered high-risk because they're members of a particular demographic—this level of observation will be intrusive, and this is where the courts are really going to struggle with the issues of electronic tracking. We will have to redefine what we mean by "freedom" in a technologically intense urban society. What do you think? ————— David Gerrold is a Hugo and Nebula award-winning author. He has written more than 50 books, including "The Man Who Folded Himself" and "When HARLIE Was One," as well as hundreds of short stories and articles. His autobiographical story "The Martian Child" was the basis of the 2007 movie starring John Cusack and Amanda Peet. He has also written for television, including episodes of Star Trek, Babylon 5, Twilight Zone, and Land Of The Lost. He is best known for creating tribbles, sleestaks, and Chtorrans. In his spare time, he redesigns his website, www.gerrold.com

Toys For Geeks: 20 Great Gifts for any Mini-Nerd Posted: 17 Aug 2011 04:13 PM PDT Whether you sneak a peak at the toys section while grocery shopping at Target, or get dragged along to the local Toys R' Us with by your own kids, a small part of all of us wants to dig in. Why? Because at some point in each one of our lives, toys ruled our world. But, more importantly, many of them taught us virtues we would carry into our adult lives, and possibly pass on to our very own kids. Model cars and space ships taught us patience and attention to detail, Legos taught us that with the right amount of creativity, anything is possible, and Transformer robots taught us that, well, robots are freakin' cool. With that in mind, we'd like to present to you twenty of our favorite current toys for nerdy kids. We didn't just want to find the coolest toys per say, we wanted to find cool toys that encourage kids intelectually and creatively as well. What did we miss? Maximum PC parents, what toys do you buy for your kids? Let us know in the comments below!

Windows Phone 7 App of the Week: IM+ Posted: 17 Aug 2011 03:11 PM PDT Internet Chat is still one of the top methods of instantaneous communication between multiple parties. Chat junkies who have been using mobile devices for a while will be familiar with IM+ by Shape Services. IM+ has been one of the leaders in mobile chat software for a very long time, and the software's success across a wide range of platforms is a good indication of the importance Shape Services places on their role in the mobile community.    IM+ for Windows Phone currently comes in two flavors, a free (ad supported) version and a $4.99 Pro version. Both versions will allow you to communicate with your friends using popular chat services like AIM, Yahoo, Google Talk, Facebook, and MySpace. Though Windows Phone 7 doesn't currently support multitasking (the Mango update is just around the corner) IM+ uses push notifications to alert you to incoming chat messages. Grab your copy of IM+ (Free or Pro) from the Windows Phone Marketplace, and keep an eye out for the v1.4 update that we hear is already making its way through the approval process. The update adds some new services, but loses support for MSN messenger due to some restrictions Microsoft has placed on Marketplace apps.

Netflix Expanding into Piracy-Heavy Spain Posted: 17 Aug 2011 03:03 PM PDT The red envelope of Netflix continues its global expansion with official word that the service will be coming to Spain in January 2012. The move was confirmed by Pedro Perez of FAPAE, the Spanish Spanish producers association. Netflix has caught fire in many territories throughout North and Central America, but faces an uphill battle in Spain, a country famous for high levels of piracy. Netflix is expected to reach 30 million US subscribers by the end of 2011, and the Spanish film industry wants a piece of that. Over 400 million illegal downloads are suspected in Spain every year, compared to 100 million movie tickets sold. The opportunity to convert even some of that piracy into legitimate income is sure to be alluring. The odds are against Netflix, though. Even the launch of Apple's iTunes store late last year has been lackluster. Sales in that ecosystem have continued to be below expectations. Spain hopes to clamp down on piracy with the recently approved (and controversial) Sustainable Economy bill. This would allow authorities to close down sites offering illegal downloads. Do you think Netflix sill thrive in this new environment?

Dell Makes Thinnest Monitor Yet with S2330MX Posted: 17 Aug 2011 02:45 PM PDT The thickness of a phone gets a lot of attention due to its fundamental nature as a pocketable device. For a monitor to wow us with its svelte lines, it really has to be eye-catchingly thin. The new Dell S2330MX certainly is that kind of sleek and slender. The S2330MX is, and you can probably guess from the name, is a 23-inch monitor with DVI and VGA out. This is a 1920x1080 screen, so expect the 'HD' banding to be all over the place. The panel is LED backlit, which enables its slim profile. Happily, the attractive design doesn't come at the expense of performance. The S2330MX still boasts 2ms response times. Dell didn't let two important detail slip: the price and just how thin that panel is. We're assured that it is the thinnest they've ever made, so take that for what you will. Ordering will start tomorrow, August 18. What do you think this monitor will cost?

Sneak a Peek at EVGA's GeForce GTX 580 Classifed (Final Revision) Posted: 17 Aug 2011 02:38 PM PDT EVGA has been tweaking the design of its upcoming GeForce GTX 580 Classified videocard for a few weeks now, offering up the first sneak peek back in early July. Yesterday evening, EVGA Product Manager Jacob Freeman uploaded a pic of the shipping version to his Google+ account, which looks very similar to initial design, only gnarlier. Only a front shot of the final revision is available, but if everything else remains unchanged, the Classified version will ship with triple power input connectors, including two 8-pin PCI-E connectors and a single 6-pin PCI-E connector (hat should give overclocking enthusiasts plenty of power to play with); a 14+3 phase PWM; voltage status LEDs; 3-way and 4-way SLI support; a dual BIOS; and high quality capacitors. In other words, the internal design should be every bit as beastly as its outer appearance, and then some (see photo gallery below). No word on price. Image Credit: EVGA

The U.S. Patent System Is Killing Innovation Posted: 17 Aug 2011 12:37 PM PDT HTC sued Apple over mobile patents today. Again. Pretty soon Apple will likely sue them back. Again. Shrug. Throw it on the pile. And while the patent Cold War continues to heat up, weep for the real casualty: innovation. I'm not a lawyer. Hell, the last time I watched Law & Order, Jerry Orbach was still flashing badges. But I am someone who's watched the tech industry eat away at itself for years now, playing the world's most expensive tower defense game with bought and sold ideas. Patents are hoarded like gold and brandished like swords. Which would be fine and good, if they were protecting old products and not destroying the new ones. As we've said before, the problem today isn't really good ol' fashioned patent trolls. They're shakedown artists, sure, and that's despicable, but at the end of the day all they really want is money. Money that could be better spent by the big boys on R&D, sure, but the Lodsys types are a gnat. The lawsuits that Apple and HTC and Samsung and Nokia and everyone else with skin in the mobile game are throwing at each other, though? Those are dangerous. They're dangerous because Apple doesn't want cash; they've got more than the entire US government. Neither does anyone else, really. What they're all gunning for is market advantage. Which, in the most extreme case, means pulling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 off EU and Aussie shelves altogether. They're not playing Monopoly anymore. They're playing Highlander. I spoke with Venture Capitalist and author of the influential tech blog Above the Crowd Bill Gurley, who pointed out that "The [patent] Cold War aspect basically defines certain markets as 'out of bounds.' You can't do mobile OS now. CPU is likely tough. Video CODECs are a mess." Three crucial areas, cut off from from disruptive progress because of our system's failings. And that's just one consideration. Gurley also noted that equally important factors—non-operating patent filers (the aforementioned trolls) and the patenting of business processes—have done every bit as much to stymie innovation. So why have we gone off the deep end? Why are smartphones an afterthought when Google pays billions of dollars for Motorola's mobile business? Why can't a company even blink a new tablet without lawyers pounding down the door? Simply put, and thoroughly laid bare by Nilay Patel over at TIMN, software patents aren't a real thing. Or rather, they're classified in a way that's totally counter to their actual function, leaving enough of a grey area that nearly anybody can sue over nearly anything. And, as Apple showed when they blocked the Galaxy Tab, they can win. Billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner (and one of the biggest winners of the late-90s tech bubble) Mark Cuban recently suggested that we just scrap software patents altogether. A better answer is probably to write specific language into patent law to cover the unique properties of software. As for litigation, Gurley recommends moving to a system—similar to what the UK and France already have in place—where the losing party pays. That would, ideally, head off countless baseless suits at the pass. Again, I'm no Sam Waterston. I just know who gets hurt in the broken system we have now. And it's a long list: • Small start-ups who either shy away from improving on products in litigious areas, get sued into oblivion before they can actualize a great idea, or get bought up solely for their intellectual property—which ends up not getting made. • Large companies, the Samsungs and Apples and HTCs, who spend billions of dollars on patent acquisition and litigation—which could be better spent on R&D. • You, gadget-lover, whose desire for the latest and greatest runs directly counter to the directives of the patent wars. It slows things down, it limits choice. It destroys the marketplace of ideas in favor of a shadow world, where the only products you get to see are the ones that get past a beleaguered team of IP lawyers. That's essentially every part of the tech ecosystem that's infected by this parasite. What can you do? Ask your representatives for patent reform (if you're looking for an outline of what to say, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos kind of nailed it back in 2000). That, and hope that the great patent Cold War doesn't devolve into a thermonuclear disaster. Gizmodo is the world's most fun technology website, focused on gadgets and how they make our lives better, worse, and more absurd.

How To Save Your Game Data When You Change Hard Drives Posted: 17 Aug 2011 11:24 AM PDT Don't Leave The Past Behind There's an old saying that goes "You can't take it with you when you die," but we disagree. Sure, you might suffer an XP loss or have a nifty +3 bastard sword disappear from your inventory, but all in all, your belongings remain intact in the event of an untimely character death. The saying should be "You can't take it with you if you don't save your game data." We can't help with your lack of FPS skills, but we can help you transfer your game data to a new PC or hard drive. Find Your Save Backing up a save game is easy; finding the location of your save data is the tricky part. Game makers just can seem to settle on a common saved game spot. There are some common locations for saved games in Windows 7 and Vista, though, such as: Your save games usually hide deep in the recesses of your Windows User folder. C:\ProgramFiles\%Game% C:\Users\%User Name%\SavedGames\%Game% C:\Users\%User Name%\Documents\%Game% C:\Users\%User Name%\Documents\My Games\%Game% C:\Users\%User Name%\Appdata\(either Local or Roaming folder)\%Game%\ C:\ProgramFiles\Steam\steamapps\common\%Game% C:\ProgramFiles\Steam\steamapps\%SteamUserName%\%Game% Sometimes, game developers like to get tricky by hiding a game's folder inside a folder named after the publisher, changing the filepath from,say, Appdata\Assassin's Creed to Appdata\Ubisoft\Assassin's Creed – consider yourself forewarned.  Also, games that save to Steam's cloud service, such as Left 4 Dead, save to numbered folders in the C:\ProgramFiles\Steam\userdata\%SteamUserIDNumber%\ folder. Once you're inside the folder for your game, looked for a folder entitled "Save Games," "Userdata" or something along those lines. Backup the save files using the standard methods; flash drives, CDs, FileHost, whatever. If you can't find your saves anywhere, hop online and check out a forum for the game you want to back up – you're bound to find a well-intentioned regular who can help you lay your grubby fingers on your precious save data. Or, you could just check out the massive list of save game locations painstakingly put together by Steam forum-goer Kailieann if you're the less social type. Moving Steam Games Transferring up your Steam games themselves is almost as important as transferring your save data. Sure, you could log into Steam on your new computer and redownload your entire collection, but that involves a ton of wasted time and bandwidth. Fortunately, moving your Steam games to another hard drive is straightforward. A Steam folder that isn't quite ready for transfer. Basically, you want to transfer your entire steamapps folder to the new PC. Before you try it, go ahead and back up the contents in the folder. Valve recommends it and so do we. Next, exit Steam and delete everything in the main Steam folder except for Steam.exe and the steamapps folder. Afterward, transfer the entire Steam folder to your new PC using your method of choice (though if you've got scads of 10GB+ games, an external hard drive may be your best option). All you have to do now is sign in to Steam on your new PC; after some quick updates, you'll be back to fragging box-hopping creeps in BRINK in no time. That's better -- this Steam folder's ready to move. Take note: this transfers your game data, but not your save games themselves. You'll still need to move those over separately. Keep Your CD Keys In Order If you've lost the CD keys that came with your non-Steam games, you'll want to download GameKeyRevealer before switching hard drives. The app extracts your installed games' CD keys from the Windows registry. GameKeyRevealer's a bit slow to add updates for new games, but its list of supported games is second to none – it can find the CD keys for over 1000 games. GameKeyRevealer in action. Image Credit: GameKeyRevealer Using it is simple; download GameKeyRevealer from its website, then unzip the archive. Boot up the GameKeyRevealer and click the "Find Games" button. Boom! Done. GameKeyRevealer will display the CD keys of any supported games it finds on your computer. Jot those keys down and be more careful with them this time! And that should do it. Go forth and conquer with the knowledge that your game data is safe!

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MMO News

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• Monkey Quest
• Megaten adds new dungeon
• Divine Souls announces temporary closure
• A.V.A. launches new Demolition map
• Drakensang Online Gameplay – First Look HD
• ACE Online announces International Tournament
• Open beta begins for Planet War
• Dungeon and Dragons Online dates Update 11
• Remnant Knights begins open beta

Monkey Quest Posted: 17 Aug 2011 04:20 PM PDT Monkey Quest is an MMORPG created by Nickelodeon in which players create and customize a monkey character that is used to explore a jungle world. This is a 3D side-scrolling game with basic controls and kid-friendly amounts of violence and puzzles Publisher: Nickelodeon Virtual Worlds Group Playerbase: Low Graphics: Medium. Type: Side Scrolling MMORPG EXP Rate: Low PvP: None Filesize: N/A (Browser Based) Pros: +Easy controls. +Quirky Enemies. +Good Graphics for a browser game Cons: -Too linear of a path. -Long load time between portals. -Many options/areas of game only available through cash purchase. Overview Monkey Quest Overview Monkey Quest is an MMORPG created by Nickelodeon in which players create and customize a monkey character that is used to explore a jungle world. This is a 3D side-scrolling game with basic controls and kid-friendly amounts of violence and puzzles. Although free to play, it does offer added features through Nickelodeon's NickCash, which provides players certain perks. The game officially launched on April 2, 2011 and is geared towards children in the 6-12 age group. Monkey Quest Screenshots Full Review Monkey Quest Full Review By, William Liebenrood Account creation in Monkey Quest requires email verification and players are required to login on the Monkey Quest site before each game.  Players can create their own personalized monkey, changing everything from the color of the fur to the hairstyles. While limited to a handful of options per feature, there are still a good variety of avatars that one can create and play with. Male and female characters are available, however, there is no class system to choose from as the monkeys are essentially traveling avatars in game. Players can change their hairstyle, hair color, main fur color, secondary fur color and face. Once the character is created, players are allowed to select from three categories of names (first, middle and last name). While there are a ton of options to choose from, players cannot have the same name as any other character in game, which as the game grows in popularity, may cause a problem with character creation. There is only one channel to connect to, but players will find that despite having only one channel, it is not laggy or overly congested with players in any one area. There is a tutorial of basic movement functions, however, players will have no problem figuring out the controls on their own. Quick slots are used to keep items such as weapons and consumable items.  The game world is three dimensional but also keeps the side scrolling feel with movement between the foreground and background in addition to the up, down, left and right most gamers are familiar with in other similar titles. The animation has good detail which gives the game a funny and entertaining viewing experience. Monkey Questing As you would expect from the title, Monkey Quest is mainly, well questing with a monkey. Throughout the game you will find your typical NPC that has a ? or ! above their head, indicating they are part of a quest you can accept. Other NPCs have grayed out ? and !s above their heads which indicate certain things must be completed before their quests will be available to the character. Being geared towards a younger demographic, the game also has an arrow at the top of the screen which tells the player exactly where they need to go to complete sections of a quest. Overall the questing portion feels a lot like your non-browser based games but does become a bit linear as there are only a select few options you have to quest in each region. The one major drawback to this game has to be the loading screen between each portal. Players will find themselves constantly playing the "hurry up and wait" game as quests often times require players to go through multiple portals to complete simple tasks. While this is a negative in the game, those with the higher end systems should not have too much trouble. Go Bananas! Any good monkey knows; that if it looks scary, attack it! Players will find a nice array of quirky enemies in the game and most of them are simple to defeat, while others require teamwork and assistance from other players to battle. With the concept of kids in mind, the creators don't punish players to harshly when their monkey is defeated, but rather will send them to the nearest checkpoint or to the beginning of the portal if no checkpoint was reached. Players are simply knocked out for about 5 seconds before they can revive and there is no XP docking for dying at any level, which makes the game a bit too easy to master for players outside the intended age group.  All of the monsters you defeat offer your character some degree of XP which make your monkey stronger. Unfortunately, players are not in control of their own destiny when it comes to defense, health and attacking skills, and each level up will simply assign you additional health, attack and defense skills. As characters gain XP, more weapons, protective clothing, and healing potions become available. Similar to side scrolling titles like Neosaurs and Maple Story, shops are run by NPCs and as you go through more difficult areas, higher level items are available, while in earlier levels, the shops offer the basic materials a player would need to survive. Items can be obtained by completing quests or by purchasing them with bananas you pick up while exploring different portals, or by purchasing items with NickCash (some items are only available with NickCash). Play It Again, And Again, And Again Another issue some players may have is the slow XP rate. Players will need to devote a good bit of time to the game to really enjoy some of the higher level weapons and gear, but grinding is possible and the game makes it easy for players to leave and re-enter portals and collect massive amounts of bananas and crafting items. There also daily tasks which are simple to pick up between longer quests and will earn players a little more spending cash whenever they feel like straying from the main story. Final Verdict: Good Monkey Quest is a good side-scrolling MMORPG that takes players into an exotic world filled with fun monkey activities and quests. The vivid graphics and innocent activities create a fun atmosphere for exploring. Complete lots of quests without the worry of a higher level player stealing your lunch money or lunch bananas that is and enjoy jumping, swinging and running all over the world of Ook. Players master basic skills and spend hours playing with other monkeys in puzzle filled lands of mystery. Chat and form parties with friends to take on challenging dungeons. Although the game definitely has it's draw backs with the wait time between lands keeping players at the load screen than they would like, the game still has a lot to offer. Comparable to other titles like Maple Story, and Neosaurs; Monkey Quest takes players on a family fun adventure. Screenshots Monkey Quest Screenshots 123► Links Monkey Quest Links Official Page

Megaten adds new dungeon Posted: 17 Aug 2011 04:10 PM PDT Shin Megami Tensei Online: Imagine, aka Megaten, has released a new patch today introducing a new dungeon. Shibuya Quartz Gold requires one each of Amrita,  Elixir,  Ambrosia, and  Madra, and lets players pick the boss room. The game has also added a free character slot to all players, allowing veteran players and old players to unlock a new character slot- bringing the total to three free character slots. Megaten is published by Aeria Games, which also publishes Shaiya and Last Chaos. Megaten Gameplay Screenshot Source: Guess What Megaten!? New Dungeon! Quartz Gold! Bring your strongest and luckiest friends! Light up the crystals and defeat the new bosses! You pick your boss room! What you need to start your adventure! 1 – Amrita 1 – Elixir 1 – Ambrosia 1 – Madra 1 – Some Luck~ NEW CHARACTER TICKET FOR EVERYONE! All already created accounts will recieve an additional character ticket! All new accounts created will now start out with two character tickets! That’s a total of three starting character per each account! Be sure to log in and enjoy! P.S. Be sure to talk to the Pixie she will offer the player additional route depending on the stats of your character. Once the stat requirement is fulfilled, the Pixie will unlock the warp crystal which will lead to a treasure room!

Divine Souls announces temporary closure Posted: 17 Aug 2011 03:47 PM PDT Outspark has announced that it will temporarily close Divine Souls’ servers on August 30. The temporary closure is being done so that the development team can focus on a major overhaul, including bug fixes, content creation, and more. This process is estimated to take several months. Partial refunds will be issued to players who purchased anything from the Premium Shop between April and now. Special compensation packages will be sent out via email later this month. Outspark also publishes Fiesta Online and Secret of the Solstice. Divine Souls Gameplay Screenshot Source: An important message about Divine Souls… Posted on Aug 16, 2011 Dear Soulers, We appreciate the patience and support you have all shown in Divine Souls, from a rocky Closed Beta to a very successful launch. We’ve had a blast in PvP, running blindly into boss fights, and just chatting with one another. However, as you are aware Divine Souls is not without its flaws and faults, bugs and glitches. We want this game to live up to its potential as much as you do, and we don’t feel that it’s there just yet. With that in mind, we have made the difficult yet necessary decision to announce the temporary closure of Divine Souls on August 30th, 2011. Now, what do we mean by ‘temporary closure’? Divine Souls will be taken down for a drastic overhaul of bug fixes and content creation. Working closely with the developer, we will monitor the progress of Divine Souls and will re-open Divine Souls when the game is in tip-top shape. This process will not be instant and will take many many months, during which both Outspark and Gameprix will be monitoring and analyzing the progress made to ensure a high-quality end result. We understand this closure comes as sad, disappointing, and sudden. However, we feel that taking Divine Souls offline is the best way to achieve the goal. We are looking forward to re-opening Divine Souls some time in the future. We will be partially reimbursing purchases made through the Divine Souls in-game Premium Shop from April onwards based on the following policy: Purchases made in April 2011 will receive 20% of the Sparkcash value spent. Purchases made in May 2011 will receive 30% of the Sparkcash value spent. Purchases made from June 2011 onwards will receive 50% of Sparkcash value spent. Additional details on the compensation package and other information, including redemption codes, will be sent via email by 11:59pm PST August 31st. Please make sure you are receiving official emails from Outspark. You can change or update your email address at http://outspark.com/profile/account We appreciate all of your time, effort and dedication you have given to Divine Souls, and look forward to seeing you back in the game soon. Keep fighting the good fight, Soulers! ~Outspark Staff

A.V.A. launches new Demolition map Posted: 17 Aug 2011 01:56 PM PDT Alliance of Valiant Arms is launching a new update today, adding the new Airplane Demolition mode map, along with new weapons. Airplane is a Demolition Style map, where the EU attempts to eliminate the NRF or destroy one of two map targets where weapons of mass destruction are stored after a plane crash, while the NRF plays defensively. New weapons for the patch are the PGM.338 (Pre-Release Capsule), Blue Skull Remington (Permanent Capsule), M4A1 MK.3 (Rifle Man), and FN-F2000 (Rifle Man). Alliance of Valiant Arms is published by ijji, which also publishes Soldier Front and GunZ. Alliance of Valiant Arms Gameplay Screenshot Source: Hello A.V.A fans! We will have an A.V.A content update on August 17th from 11:00PM to 6:00AM (server time). During this time, the servers will be temporarily unavailable. In this update: New Capsule Weapons: - PGM.338 (Pre-Release Capsule) - Blue Skull Remington (Permanent Capsule) New Weapon Shop Item: - M4A1 MK.3 (Rifle Man) - FN-F2000 (Rifle Man) New Map: - Airplane [Demolition] Other Changes: - Event Channel: Airplane (Demolition) Update Schedule: California: 8/17 @ 11:00PM – 6:00AM New York: 8/18 @ 2:00AM – 9:00AM Berlin: 8/18 @ 8:00AM – 3:00PM

Drakensang Online Gameplay – First Look HD Posted: 17 Aug 2011 01:22 PM PDT To Learn More About the Game Check out our Drakensang Online Page. Drakensang Online is a 3D browser based action MMORPG published by Bigpoint – the same company behind Dark Orbit, SeaFight, Battlestar Galactica Online, and numerous other browser based titles. Drakensang Online is an action MMORPG that was inspired by Blizzard’s legendary Diablo 2. The game plays a lot like Mythos, Battle of the Immortals, and several other action MMORPGs. To learn more about Drakensang Online check out the official MMOHut Drakensang Online page which includes a detailed review, tons of screenshots, and additional videos.

ACE Online announces International Tournament Posted: 17 Aug 2011 01:12 PM PDT SubaGames has announced ACE Online’s first worldwide tournament, shortly after its qualification for an eSport-class game. The tournament will feature a Regional Championship for each participating area. North America’s tournament will feature 1v1 matches arranged by the GMs, with the best of three moving on to the next round. The second round will feature the best of five among 16 players moving forward; the third round will pit the best four in a best of 7 match. First and second place will then be able to move on to the final tournament in South Korea in November, with travel and accommodations covered by SubaGames. Prizes for the final tournament include: • 1st Place: 3 Months Membership, Prefix and Suffix of choice on any weapon (excluding legendary or unique weapons), 1 slot armour of their choice (any tier) on their highest level character, 1 gold + black + pink contour on their highest level character, 50,000 Suba Points. • 2nd Place: 2 Months Membership, Prefix or Suffix of choice on any weapon (excluding legendary or unique weapons) on their highest level character, 1 gold or black or pink contour on their highest level character, 25,000 Suba Points. • 3rd Place: Month Membership, 1 Super Gamble Set, 10,000 Suba Points. • All Participants: 2 Tokens,  2 Weapon Machine Tokens,  5 Day Membership Ticket SubaGames also publishes Mission Against Terror and Bounty Hounds Online. ACE Online Gameplay Screenshot Source: ACE Online Goes International with Worldwide Tournament North American Winners to Participate in Worldwide Tournament in Busan, S. Korea August 17, 2011 TORONTO, ON—With ACE Online (http://ace.subagames.com/landing.aspx) recently qualifying as an eSport-class game, SubaGames (http://www.subagames.com/) is partnering with developer MasangSoft to create a worldwide ACE Online tournament. SubaGames will be hosting an antecedent Regional Championship, with the top 2 players receiving the chance to represent ACE Online North America in the worldwide tournament! Prizes also include ACE Online equipment for winners' characters and Suba Points (Suba Cash). Players interested in participating in this tournament must have a registered SubaGames account with an ACE Online character. 1v1 battle matches between two players will be created by the ACE Online GM staff. The opening rounds will be comprised of matches with the best of three duels moving on to the next round. Once there are 16 players remaining, the fights will be taking place on the Area 525 server (Event Server). All matches will be comprised of 5 duels, with the best of 5 duels advancing. When there are only 4 players left, all matches will be determined by the best of 7 duels. The first and second placed participants will receive the opportunity to take part at the Ace Online World Championships at G-Star in Pusan, South Korea between November 10, 2011 and the November 13, 2011. Travel, as well as hotel accommodation and catering will be included for an estimated value of $3,000 per winner. For full details on the event, as well as additional banner art, please visit the SubaGames Announcement Thread: http://forum.subagames.com/showthread.php?t=32358. Do you think you have got what it takes to be a North America eSport star? If the answer is Yes, sign up  and show us what you’ve got at http://ace.subagames.com/landing.aspx Tournament Prizes • 1st Place: 3 Months Membership, Prefix and Suffix of choice on any weapon (excluding legendary or unique weapons), 1 slot armour of their choice (any tier) on their highest level character, 1 gold + black + pink contour on their highest level character, 50,000 Suba Points. • 2nd Place: 2 Months Membership, Prefix or Suffix of choice on any weapon (excluding legendary or unique weapons) on their highest level character, 1 gold or black or pink contour on their highest level character, 25,000 Suba Points. • 3rd Place: Month Membership, 1 Super Gamble Set, 10,000 Suba Points. All active participants in the tournament will receive the following prizes: • 2 Tokens • 2 Weapon Machine Tokens • 5 Day Membership Ticket Sign Up Download ACE Online for free from the Official Game website: http://ace.subagames.com/landing.aspx After signing up and creating a character, you can sign up in the Official Signup thread here: http://forum.subagames.com/showthread.php?t=32444

Open beta begins for Planet War Posted: 17 Aug 2011 12:19 PM PDT Yoo Games has launched the open beta of its new space-themed MMO, Planet War. Open beta includes new features including the ability to develop resource plants and research centers. Several open beta contests will take place until August 30, including rewarding the top 20 players with the largest army of Commanders and players who upgrade Heavy Warshop Techs to level 5. YooGames also publishes Warriors Saga and Batheo. Planet Wars Gameplay Screenshot Source: YooGames Launches The Next Phase of the Exciting Space MMO Shanghai, CHINA – August 17, 2011 – YooGames, an international publisher of online web titles, today launched its open beta for Planet War, an exciting new space MMO.  With no downloads or additional software required, players can hop right into the fun by visiting http://www.yoogames.com/planetwar/ and registering for a free account.  Players will be treated to fresh servers that are maintained daily along with an added in-game guide including important topics such as levelling, fleet instructions, legions, and battlefield commands. In the new beta, players can develop resource plants that will fund expeditions and repair ships and build a research center to discover advanced technologies.  Players will need to keep everything running with power plants, or risk being unable to collect important resources and every building can be upgraded to create the advanced technology necessary to compete in a busy galaxy! To celebrate the open beta launch of Planet War, numerous contests will run between now and August 30th.  Events include building the largest army of Commanders (top 20 players receive 100000-Resource Pack*2, MK-C Kit I and MK-C Kit II), racing towards the best technology (all players who upgrade their Heavy Warshop Tech to Level 5 receive 100000-Resource Pack*2, Skill Point Reset Potion*2 and 50000-Coin Card*1), and so much more. In Planet War, players build massive ships to navigate the stars and explore the Milky Way to learn of the ancient alien civilizations. Players can explore alien technology and build alliances with many alien races to help develop the vast galaxy. Build space fleets continuously, explore unclaimed star systems with other players and NPC’s, and negotiate different foreign policies in order to avoid or create war. Players can visit the official site at http://www.yoogames.com/planetwar/

Dungeon and Dragons Online dates Update 11 Posted: 17 Aug 2011 10:55 AM PDT Update 11: Secrets of the Artificers, for Dungeons and Dragons Online, has been given a final release date of September 12. The new update will add the Artificer class, which uses created weapons, mechanical pets, and arcane knowledge, as well as a redesign of House Cannith as a new quest hub and home for the Artificers. Crafting will be expanded to level 150 and a new item, Draconic Runestones, will be available to craft and use for all classes. A new adventure pack (found in the store, or available free to VIPs) will include a new area, three new dungeons and two new high level raids. Dungeons and Dragons Online is published by Turbine, which also publishes The Lord of the Rings Online, expecting its next expansion update on September 27. Dungeons and Dragons Online Update 11 Concept Art: Source: Dungeons & Dragons Online, Update 11: Secrets of the Artificers to launch September 12th Update 11: Secrets of the Artificers will feature: ·         New Artificer Class A blend of Rogue and Arcane classes, the Artificer uses specially created weapons and mechanical pets to challenge their foes ·         New House Cannith Enclave Home of the Artificers, House Cannith is a new high level quest hub where magic and mechanics converge. ·         New Content Born in war, forged in fury, Stormreach faces its most terrible foe yet. ·         New Crafting Levels Craft all the way to level 150. Plus, craft Draconic Runestones, a new magical weapon available to all classes. The Secrets of the Artificers Premium Adventure Pack will be available in the DDO Store and Free to VIPs, and includes: ·         Two new high level Raids ·         New wilderness area ·         3 new dungeons

Remnant Knights begins open beta Posted: 16 Aug 2011 06:31 PM PDT GameSamba has officially launched the open beta of its anime-style MMORPG, Remnant Knights. Open beta will feature content up to level 60, along with new crafted items, PvP modes including Marble Battle (a CTF style game), and more.  There will be no data wipe after today, and closed beta players are advised they must download the new open beta client to get access to the world. GameSamba also publishes Realms Online. Remnant Knights Gameplay Screenshot Source: Starting at 10:30 AM PST, Remnant Knights officially enters Open Beta. Players will be able to download and login to the game, and from this point on there will be no character wipes. Content up to level 60 – including some high level instances, new PVP game modes, crafting, and more – are in for our former CBT testers and new OBT players to enjoy. Remnant Knights is a free-to-play anime-styled MMORPG that takes place in a world called Kasmari. Players join one of two schools – Owl or Dragon – and begin their training to defeat the Skalari, a strange and otherworldly threat that only the Knights can overcome. The game features three main class types, each with two unique advanced classes with many skills. Players can assign skill points how they wish, letting them create the type of character they want to be. There are many unique areas to explore in the world, each with its own style and crazy monsters to hunt. Players can take a break from hunting by visiting and decorating their dorm room, crafting equipment, fishing, or zooming around on vehicles and mounts. And for people with more competitive tastes, you can participate in Marble Battle, a fun, fast-paced CTF/king of the hill hybrid PVP mode. When you reach higher levels, you can also take place in arena battles complete with ELO and ladder rankings. For our former players, there is one important thing to know: if you’ve played RK in CBT or our limited CBT2, you’re going to need to uninstall any previous versions, and download the newest client. If you try to play and patch up using the CBT clients, you will almost assuredly get errors, and you’ll likely run into gameplay issues we won’t be able to help with. So start downloading the new client right now, and we’ll see you in Kasmari today!

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