General Gaming Article

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• Don't Call It A Comeback: 7 Products That Saved Their Companies (And 2 That Didn't)
• AMD's New Catalyst 11.8 Drivers Enhance Overclocking Controls, Black Ops Performance
• Google Adds Weather Layer to Maps
• Browser Extension of the Week: After the Deadline
• Windows Prez (Kind Of) Confirms A Windows 8 App Store
• IBM Creates Cognitive Chips Modeled After The Human Brain
• The 25 Most Brutal Deaths in PC Gaming
• Logitech Unveils New G300 Gaming Mouse
• HP Reportedly Prepping $10 Billion for Software Company, Plans to Sell Off PC Business
• Your Teacher's Wrong, "Sexting" IS in the Dictionary (and so is "Retweet")

Don't Call It A Comeback: 7 Products That Saved Their Companies (And 2 That Didn't) Posted: 18 Aug 2011 03:03 PM PDT They say fate's a fickle mistress, but destiny's got nothing on the free market. For every Microsoft-esque success story, there's the burnt out husk of Sun Microsystems (R.I.P.). The really interesting tales have nothing to do with overwhelming successes or overwhelming failures, though; any budding novelist can tell you that a good story needs some tension. Join us as we take a look back at ten companies that found themselves broken, beaten, and battered, leaning on the ropes and looking woozy. Seven of them were able to summon the strength of Soda Popinksi and roar back to life stronger than ever. Two Glass Joe wannabes tried to put up a fight but found themselves on the mat in short order. The last one's still covering its face and playing rope-a-dope. Can it survive after staring down the face of extinction? Call them good or call them lucky – just don't call it a comeback. THE CHAMPS Intel: 386 microprocessor "Intel?" we can hear you asking. "How do you start with Intel? They're friggin' Intel!" Well, they weren't always – at least not as the chip-slinging microprocessor giant that you know and love. Once upon a time, Intel was known more for its memory-making prowess. And aside from a momentary downward dip in the 1974 thanks to a nationwide recession, things went pretty well for the company. Flash forward to the early 80s: the majority of Intel's focus remained in DRAM – and things weren't looking so good for DRAM manufacturers. Competitive Japanese suppliers had sucked the profit margins out of the business for companies like Intel. Things got ugly; Intel imposed extra hours on salaried employees and pay cuts on, well, pretty much everybody. Something had to change, and it had to change quickly. That something ended up being a massive shift in Intel's focus. After striking gold with the 80286 – better known to geeks as the 286 – in 1982, CEO Andrew Grove chose to pull back from the cut-throat DRAM market and focus instead on microprocessors, which didn't have as many up-and-down cycles as other semiconductor components. Intel decided to keep the design of its megapopular 32-bit 386 chip to itself, making it the first single-sourced microprocessor in history – which meant PC makers could only get the chip from Intel. The cash flowed like wine and Intel as we know it was born. AMD: Am386   Like Intel, AMD maintained a heavy presence in the RAM market throughout the early 1980s, and like Intel, the rise of Japanese competition devastated AMD's bottom line. Then, in 1986, Intel canceled a contract that allowed AMD to build the Am286 as a second-source 80286 supplier, kicking off a legal battle that lasted until 1994. To top it off, the country was in the midst of a recession. Broke and barred from building the popular 286 chipset, AMD was forced to lay off a portion of its workforce. AMD came to the same conclusion as Intel; the future lied in microprocessors. And if Intel wouldn't hand over the design for the 386, AMD would figure it out itself, dammit! The company's engineers hunkered down and in 1991, AMD achieved its goal: the debut of the speedy, reverse-engineered Am386. Seven months and 1 million Am386s later, AMD was once again on the path to success – a path that would eventually lead to the internally developed K5 processor. Iomega Zip Drive   In the early 90s, Iomega's Bernoulli Box was nearly 10 years old and starting to show its age (and, um, it was still incredibly expensive) while standard disk drives were plummeting in price and becoming more common in PCs. Unsurprisingly, Iomega was hemorrhaging cash and stock value. By 1993, the company was flat broke and its stock was worth less than $2. CEO Fred Wenninger said enough was enough and jumped ship. His replacement, Kim Edwards, decided that if the company wanted to pull itself out of the quagmire, it needed a cheaper product with more consumer appeal. The Zip Drive launched towards the end of 1994 with a $200 price tag and reasonably priced 25MB and 100MB disks. Buoyed by a massive pre-launch ad campaign, the Zip Drives sold out immediately, then kept on selling. Six months after the Zip Drive's launch, Iomega's stock rose ten-fold. By 1996, the company was rolling in cash, bringing in over $1.2 billion in revenue. Disaster had been averted, and then some. Footnote: The Zip Drive saved Iomega, but the company didn't stay on top. By 1998, the Zip Drive's "Click of Death" was a well-known and much-hated sound. The rise of cheap CD burners sealed the Zip Drive's fate. Iomega's still around, but in reduced form. Razer Diamondhead   Razer got off to a fast start with its highly accurate Boomslang mouse. Before you could say "Boom! Headshot!", Razer was everywhere serious FPS fans gathered, launching the Cyber Athlete Professional League and sponsoring Jonathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel. Then literal disaster struck: while the company was still reeling from the dot-com bubble burst, a major earthquake completely destroyed Razer's manufacturing facilities in Taiwan. In the blink of an eye, Razer's inventory was wiped out, along with its ability to replenish it. The launch of the optical Viper 1000 and redesigned Boomslang variants in 2003 couldn't rescue Razer's devastated business, and by 2004, most of the senior management fled the company, leaving co-founders Min-Liang Tan and Robert "Razerguy" Krakoff in charge. They rolled out the 1600 dpi Diamondback towards the end of the year to the delight of reviewers and consumers alike. Scads of Diamondbacks sold – in fact, the initial run of the limited edition Diamondback Plasma sold out in just over half an hour – and Razer follows it up with the widely acclaimed 2000 dpi Copperhead in 2005. Before you know it, Razer bigwigs were lighting their cigars with $100 bills once again. Nvidia RIVA 128   Flash back to 1995: 3D cards were the hot new high-end thing in PCs, and tons of companies were trying to establish a foothold in the market. Nobody had even settled on a standard way of displaying 3D graphics. Two year old Nvidia threw its young weight behind quadratic texture maps when it released its NV1 graphics card. Big mistake. Shortly after Nvidia launched the NV1, Microsoft released Direct3D, which relied on polygons for its 3D effects. Developers ran screaming from the quadratic-rific NV1 and OEMs treated the card like the kiss of death. A Sega-funded NV2 chip never actually materialized. Cue the pink slips. Nvidia went to work on the RIVA 128 in 1997. After the disastrous NV1 and the vapor-ware NV2, big things weren't expected from the GPU, but big-enough things were delivered. Critic's weren't exactly blown away – both boot, Maximum PC's forefather, as well as Tom's Hardware declared 3dfx's Voodoo Graphics superior to the RIVA 128. But unlike 3dfx's offering, the RIVA 128 offered both 2D and 3D support – a feature OEMs loved. PC manufacturers snapped the RIVA 128 up in droves and Nvidia's been sitting pretty ever since.     ATI Radeon   By the turn of the century, Nvidia had not only come back from the brink of extinction, it was dominating the graphics card market with its GeForce 256 card. 3dfx, once king of the graphics arena with its Voodoo line, was dying a slow death en route to being acquired by Nvidia. ATI's Rage, a traditional contender, was beginning to look weak; the Rage 128 GL, Rage 128 Pro and Rage Fury Maxx all fizzled in one way or another. Graphics hardware was degenerating into a distinctly one-horse race. Then came Radeon. The Radeon GPU did it all when the line launched in 2000, and it did it all well. Radeon offered a bevy of graphical options that were powerful enough to stand toe-to-toe with Nvidia's benchmark-leading GeForce2 GTS. Radeon restored ATI to a competitive, if not quite dominant, position in the graphics market. When the Radeon 9700 Pro hit the streets in 2002, it blew other graphics cards out of the water – even Nvidia's. Even though AMD long ago bought the reinvigorated ATI for a whopping $5.4b, the Radeon line still lives on. Creative Labs Sound Blaster   Creative Technology started out as a small computer repair shop in Singapore. How many other major companies can say that? In any case, the co-founders quickly moved into the computer manufacturing business themselves. In 1986, the company rolled out the Cubic CT, a computer developed specifically for the Singapore market. It flopped, and flopped hard. Creative Technology stood on the brink of extinction and decided to focus their energy – and dwindling cash reserves – on the innovative sound card it created for the Cubic CT. Creative's first major sound card, dubbed the Creative Music System, launched in 1987. It didn't quite flop, but the rival AdLib sound card quickly mopped the floor with the newcomer. Creative Labs, Creative Technology's US subsidiary, paid careful attention while Adlib was busy kicking its butt. The result? The legendary Sound Blaster. When the Sound Blaster debuted in 1989, it featured all the tech behind the Creative Music System, plus the Yamaha YM3812 chip that powered AdLib. That meant that the Sound Blaster was fully compatible with every game that included AdLib support. Plus, the Sound Blaster packed in a joystick port – a relative rarity in those days. Creative combined that technological superiority with a hyper-aggressive ad campaign and by the end of 1990 the Sound Blaster was the best selling computer add-on around and a must-have accessory for PC gamers. THE PRETENDERS Lotus SmartSuite   Sure, SmartSuite's still around. So's Lotus, kinda – but not in any way that matters to most consumers. Lotus focused on the IBM OS/2 in the early 1990s and found itself blindsided by the success of Windows 95 and its 32-bit architecture. After buying a bunch of other apps to try and compete with the various Windows programs, Lotus bundled them together under the SmartSuite name. Even though SmartSuite came gratis on many PCs, Microsoft Office wiped the floor with Lotus' product (partly because of Microsoft's Office bundling shenanigans) and took Lotus' throne as the king of all office applications. IBM acquired Lotus in a hostile takeover and the once-giant is now part of IBM's software group, a shadow of its former self. Palm Pre   When the hardware-focused palmOne and the OS-focused PalmSource merged to reform Palm, Inc. in 2005, the glory days of the PalmPilot (and heck, even the Treo) were behind them. RIM's BlackBerry stole a lot of PalmPilot fans and Apple's iPhone would soon steal even more. Palm had a plan to get back on track, though. The wrong one, i.e. the Pre. Unfortunately for Palm, consumers didn't like the Pre as much as the people at Palm did. The company signed an exclusivity deal with Sprint, who was only the third largest US carrier. The keyboard kinda sucked, and webOS's apps couldn't hold a candle to Apples. Perhaps worst of all there simply wasn't any reason to buy a Pre (or its follow-up, the Pixi) over a BlackBerry, iPhone or Android phone. In fact, in 2010, Palm's CEO admitted that he'd never even touched an iPhone. HP purchased Palm for $1.2 billion, less than a year after the Pre hit the streets. HP quickly killed off the Palm brand and is focusing its efforts on webOS. Edit: The day this article was published, HP killed webOS as well. ON THE ROPES Research In Motion Playbo.. Tor... Um... QNX...? RIM's in the same place Palm was five years ago; fading away. Android's climb to the top of the smartphone heap has come largely at RIM's expense. Since June, RIM's shares have hit a five year low and the company's been forced to axe over 2,000 workers, which amounts to about 11 percent of its workforce. Clearly RIM's on the ropes – and it needs to land a hit. But does the old fighter have any gusto left? RIM pinned high hopes on its PlayBook tablet, but then they rushed it to market prematurely – without native email, calendar or contact apps – and struggled with a small recall early. Sales have been so underwhelming that Sprint recently decided that they didn't really want to carry a 4G PlayBook after all. Before the PlayBook, RIM had high hopes for the BlackBerry Torch – hopes that failed to turn into reality. "If you don't already own a BlackBerry, you will not want this phone," Matt Buchanan said in his Gizmodo review of the Torch. "And if you do, you still might not want it, even if it may very well be the best BlackBerry ever." Ouch. So what's left? RIM plans on rolling out its first smartphone with the QNX operating system in the first quarter of 2012. Will "Colt" be the magic pill RIM needs? The initial signs are shaky, and the digerati are already skeptical. QNX is the OS behind the underwhelming PlayBook. That's not a tremendous heritage (especially if it's still lacking email support when Colt launches), but if the phone manages to appeal to consumers rather than just the traditional RIM business client, the company still has time to right the ship. Conclusion So what did we get wrong? What did we get right? We're sure at least one of you thinks we're idiots – why? Did we forget about a company? Let us know in the comments!

AMD's New Catalyst 11.8 Drivers Enhance Overclocking Controls, Black Ops Performance Posted: 18 Aug 2011 03:00 PM PDT AMD decided to shake things up a bit with its last major driver release of the summer, Catalyst 11.8. The new driver package integrates the chip maker's CPU Overdrive utility into the AMD Vision Control Center, putting CPU and GPU overclocking controls at your fingertips from a central location (note that the software only supports CPU overclocking of Black Edition chips). When you're finished overclocking and ready to get down to the business of playing games, Catalyst 11.8 promises to deliver up to 20 percent better performance in Call of Duty Black Operations for both single- and multi-GPU setups running Radeon HD 5000 and 6000 series graphics cards, up to 30 percent when AMD's Morphological Anti-Aliasing (MLAA) is enabled through the Control Center, up to 10 percent in Crysis 2 (DirectX 11 version), and up to 8 percent in F.E.A.R. 3 (DirectX 11 version) with application enabled AA. Finally, Catalyst 11.8 resolves a number of issues, including one that could previously cause a system to hang or BSOD when playing HD content overnight using Windows Media Center in Windows 7, as well as when installing the driver with Crossfire enabled in Windows Vista. Driver Download Release Notes

Google Adds Weather Layer to Maps Posted: 18 Aug 2011 02:49 PM PDT Google has announced a new feature for Google Maps that makes so much sense we're shocked it wasn't already there. Now when you are using Maps, you will be able to toggle on a weather layer. This is a handy feature when you're planning a trip, or just want to check the goings on around the globe. When the layer it activated, the map will populate with a series of weather icons and temperatures. This is great, but you can also click on any of them for more detail. Maps will display a popup with data like wind, humidity and a 4-day forecast. The left-hand panel will also have detailed weather information when the layer is enabled. This is where you can change the units between imperial and metric. Unlike many Google rollouts, this one is happening all at once for everyone. Head over to Maps and let us know how you like it.

Browser Extension of the Week: After the Deadline Posted: 18 Aug 2011 12:01 PM PDT Spellchecking software has been in the business of softening up the brains of computer users everywhere since 1980, and let us tell you: business is good. In the three decades since spellcheck first hit the scene, most of us have come to rely upon the safety and false sense of intellectual security provided by the knowledge that even though we've failed as students of our mother tongue, we can still shine in print... most of the time. When you're dealing with the wild and wooly world wide web, the availability of decent spellchecking can be deeply varied. While you might be able to sort out the mistakes you've made in Google Docs, Twitter will still show all of your ugly spelling errors to the world. Unless of course, you install After the Deadline, our Browser Extension of the Week. Available as a Firefox add-on or a Chrome extension, After the Deadline is an open source spelling and grammar checking solution that works with any site you visit.  After installing it, users will note that mistakes made while filling in forms, fields or any other text-related in-browser task will be underlined in red for a spelling error and in green for grammar. Click on the underlined word and After the Deadline will offer you a number of suggestions to make it right. The extension can even offer you stylistic suggestions to help you polish up your work, making it a breeze to put your best written foot forward online. Be sure to check back every Thursday for another edition of Maximum PC's Browser Extension of the Week.

Windows Prez (Kind Of) Confirms A Windows 8 App Store Posted: 18 Aug 2011 11:50 AM PDT The rumor mill's been all abuzz about the possibility of an App Store in the upcoming Windows 8 operating system, and for once, the hub-bub was based off of some fairly logical deductions. One: Microsoft said a long time ago that Windows 8 was being developed for use on mobile platforms as well as PCs. Two: when Apple tried to trademark "App Store," Microsoft argued the term was too generic. It looks like that deductive reasoning was well-founded; if you use a bit more deductive reasoning, you'll infer that the Windows Prez recently confirmed a Windows 8 app store. Why the shifty sentences? Because Steven Sinofsky, the president of Microsoft's Windows and Windows Live division, didn't come right out an say that yes, there is an App Store in Windows 8. Instead, Engadget points out that when Sinofsky listed the software development groups in the Introducing the Team post on the new-found "Building Windows 8" blog, an App Store team was amongst those listed, alongside such stalwarts as "Storage and File Systems" and "Device Connectivity." We'd love to offer up more details, but that's it. Sinofsky didn't elaborate, and we're guessing he facepalmed after he realized what he did. We'll be sure to pass on any future updates as they accidentally get leaked.

IBM Creates Cognitive Chips Modeled After The Human Brain Posted: 18 Aug 2011 10:59 AM PDT The Terminator movies are entertaining and all, but they forget to point out one important fact in the midst of all the cybernetic shotgunning; if Skynet is ever going to actually become self-aware, it'll probably require a drastic change in the way computers process information. Hey, James Cameron – don't sweat it. IBM has your back. The company just announced it's created a series of prototype "chips designed to emulate the brain's abilities for perception, action and cognition." We suspect they'll also be the key to the eventual robot revolution. From the company's press release: "IBM's first cognitive computing prototype chips use digital silicon circuits inspired by neurobiology to make up what is referred to as a "neurosynaptic core" with integrated memory (replicated synapses), computation (replicated neurons) and communication (replicated axons)." The two prototypes created by IBM contain 256 "neurons." One core sports 262,144 "programmable synapses," while the other chip packs 65,536 "learning synapses." The cognitive chips have already been able to learn and remember simple tasks like navigation, pattern memorization and associative memory. IBM's eventual goal is to create a chip with ten billion neurons and a hundred trillion synapses. The chips, which were created as part of the "SyNAPSE" project, use considerably less energy than traditional bus-based configurations. "This architecture represents a critical shift away from traditional von Neumann computing to a potentially more power-efficient architecture that has no set programming, integrates memory with processor, and mimics the brain's event-driven, distributed and parallel processing," IBM boasts. That's the first sign of the apocalypse. The second? DARPA just gave IBM and the four universities collaborating on the project $21 million to help fund Phase 2 of the research.

The 25 Most Brutal Deaths in PC Gaming Posted: 18 Aug 2011 10:48 AM PDT Just how gory do PC games get nowadays? Spoiler: Get your umbrella. There's a great crop of titles in the PC gaming universe that are guaranteed to make you squirm—either through a combination of their bloody mayhem, the actual method you go about killing someone (or being killed yourself), or the creativity a game puts into your hands and the decision it forces you to make about another character's life. Are all of the games on our list blood-spraying fountains of mayhem? Nope! But each and every death we've highlighted comes with its own special reasoning as to why it's particularly brutal to watch. It goes without saying, but the videos we're featuring are not for the squeamish! You've been warned. Hitman: Blood Money Any game that's built around the idea of giving you maximum creative freedom for killing targets has nearly unlimited potential to be hilarious and brutal, all in one. Hitman: Blood Money is no exception, and the following clip shows just how gruesome this game's A.I. can be in addition to its body count. The Sims 3 The Sims 3 might not win high marks for its gruesomeness but, in this case, brutality is in the eyes of the beholder. You can't make your Sim explode–we hope–but the sheer level of horribleness you can inflict on your Sims' lives is damaging enough for your personal well-being, let alone your dearly departed digital friends. Tron: Evolution Okay, so we're copping out: The video is obviously a clip from Tron: Legacy, not the PC game Tron: Evolution. Why the switch? Because the movie shows the brutal deaths better. And what's so especially brutal about Tron? You get hit by a Frisbee and explode into a million little pieces of glass. Tron's elementary school playgrounds must be killing grounds. Diablo II Want to talk about brutal? How about sinking countless hours and costly trades into developing a wicked, high-level hardcore character in Blizzard's Diablo II… only to find said person dead at the hands of an unscrupulous (yet funny) player-killer. The death itself might not be that glamorous or gory, but we can't say the same for the keyboard you'll be pounding your fists into. Bioshock Spoilers: If you're one of the three people who haven't played the original Bioshock, don't click this link. We beg of you. You're ruining a great moment in a great story, and that's all we're going to say about that. For those with card-carrying membership to the Beat Bioshock club, however, would you kindly tell us why we picked the scene we did for this list? Duke Nukem 3D This timeless classic of first-person shooting–recently brought back into our lives via crappy remake–features such life-enriching feats of violence as kicking a field goal with an endgame boss's eyeball. Other acts of charitable vengeance shown in the game are almost too graphic, and too funny, to print. Who doesn't love catching up on the news?   Space Quest This classic adventure series' creative approach to chaotic, unpredictable, and messy death is one of the finest in the genre. Depending on your stupidity, your death can range from simple, to painful, to downright messy: It's like a choose-your-own-adventure game with the grim reaper. We've linked one of our favorites in the accompanying video: Get yourself together! Dead Space 2 Let Dead Space 2 be the official "horror game" entry into our feature, for we'd be here all week if we had to consider every single permutation of shock/gore/zombie title ever created. We applaud the game's creative combination of squishy and fatal when you, the poor guy stuck on one of Saturn's moons, fails to hit the correct series of buttons at the correct time. They don't make space Band-Aids big enough for the world of hurt you get put through. Batman: Arkham Asylum Save for your untimely encounters with Killer Croc, Batman doesn't really die in the most horrific of ways in Arkham Asylum. Rather, it's your ineptitude as a player that causes various friends and hostages to meet their gory ends. And the icing on the cake? When you die, you get taunted: Harley Quinn rubbing verbal salt in your many wounds is brutal in its meanness, if nothing else. Limbo Death, done artistic, is still death. And you can certainly kick the bucket in all sorts of creative ways within this epic side-scrolling adventure. From bear traps that blow your body to a fine monochromatic mist to giant spider legs that impale your character, Limbo spares no messy details when it comes to removing you from, well, whatever world you're in. Boy, do we hate spiders. Phantasmagoria Remember this CD-ROM title? If you do, you win a Maximum PC Classic Gore award. This old Sierra On-Line adventure game harnessed the power of full-motion video to showcase all sorts of gruesome ways that you and the various characters populating the story could get ripped apart. One could say that Phantasmagoria was ahead of its time for shock value – but we wouldn't so far as to say its storyline was especially compelling. Planescape: Torment Look, the entire premise of this game is that you're immortal. You can't die. And should you happen to find your hit points reduced to zilch, you'll likely wake up right where the game started: On a slab in a mortuary. So, when your city's official protector-slash-deity wanders up and kills you good for some stupid thing you've done (like going around and murdering her servants for no reason, or worshipping her as a deity), you just know it has to be brutal. Give us a simple mazing any day. Fallout 3 You might not be able to do much dying in some magnified, cutscene-laden blaze of glory like some of the other first-person shooters on our list, but this first-person RPG does allow you to kill your fellow inhabitants of Capital Wasteland in a variety of painful ways. Our favorite? The trusty Fat Man nuclear catapult. Yes, you get to pummel your foes with a miniature nuclear warhead. Vaporization is a pretty brutal way to go, is it not? Quake 4 We should put an asterisk next to the specific scene we're highlighting in Quake 4 because, contrary to the laws of physics and the general construction of one's circulatory system, your player character really should be dead after his mistreatment at the hands of the game's chief antagonists. So chalk up this victory in the hands of certain death to some creative (albeit rusty) medical practices, although your ultimate survival in no way makes this scene any less painful to watch! Bionic Commando Rearmed Alright, oldschool gamers: Roll call. You know exactly what scene I'm talking about from the original Bionic Commando. And you'll be happy to know that the exact same splatterhouse effect, upon beating the game's final boss, has been faithfully recreated in this game's excellent remake. Or is that… rearm? Soldier of Fortune: Payback War is indeed hell, but in the case of the Soldier of Fortune first-person shooter series, it's also a Halloween haunted house. For there are more limbs flying around and buckets of blood spraying everywhere in this game than most modern-day war shooters. Soldier of Fortune: Payback remains banned in Germany as a result of its extremity, and a modified version—dismemberment disabled—had to be created for Australian gamers. Our take? We never knew a few bullets could do so much physical damage to a person.   Postal 2 High on the list of "ways to end it all in a video game" sits Postal 2. Or, to put it another way, who needs a quick-reload feature when you can simply stop walking, pull the pin in a grenade, put it in your mouth, and chew for a few seconds until your body spray-paints all the objects around you? Only a developer with the name "Running with Scissors" could think of quite such an ingenious—and messy—way to restart your game's progress. Bloodrayne 2 Let's set this one up: You're a dhampir, your name is Rayne, and you have two huge blades attached to your arms. We don't think we need to walk through this one anymore than that. This game isn't so much a third-person shooter as it is a romp through a bloody fountain – the sheer amount of carnage you can inflict on your underpowered enemies puts this game's protagonist miles away from the standard "I vannnt to succck your blooood" vampire motif. She doesn't need fangs; she needs a straw. Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 You might not think to place this complex theme park simulation game on a list of "goriest video games," but that's because you're probably a normal person. You have a heart. You understand love. You're a lot different than some of the RT3 fans whose very existences as theme park directors would make Walt Disney spin in his grave. Case in point: Rollercoaster Tycoon bowling. The balloons are an especially cruel touch, don't you think? Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 Spoiler alert! Don't read this, and don't click the link, if you don't want to learn that the exact same plot twist that happens in every Star Wars franchise also happens in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2. While your character's dark-side death in the end isn't especially brutal for its gore, it's painful to watch for two reasons: One, any Star Wars fan worth his Wookie knows that the bad guys betray each other left and right at some point in every plot. And, two, your character is ultimately killed by… himself. Warcraft III Continuing the theme of, "Nothing's more brutal than betrayal," we present the classic cutscene that kicks off the life of frosty, frosty evil for fallen Alliance prince Arthas Menethil. Again, this particular death doesn't result in a fountain of blood being sprayed all over Lordaeron's throne room. But it does result in the "didn't see that coming" death of King Terenas, otherwise known as ol' Father Menethil. Talk about cold. Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War II (E3 2008 Trailer) It's a staple of the series: Any Warhammer video game is likely to be full of Orks screaming "waaagggh" and a seemingly unending legion of armored-up Space Marines looking to put chainswords through their green exteriors. We'd go into the fun weapons of all the other factions (don't get us started on Chaos), but we'd be here all day. However, there's one Warhammer weapon that always seems to catch our eye for its brutality. We're speaking, of course, about the Dreadnaught, a giant armored combat walker that uses all sorts of heinous methods to ruin an enemy's day. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Like Fallout 3, the brutality exhibited in Bethesda Softworks' Oblivion is entirely under your control. But while the game isn't all that gory on its face (at least, not compared to some of the other titles we've just featured), there's something special to be said about the horrible betrayal you can inflict on people who care a lot about you--dare we say, people who care more about you than anyone else in Tamriel. We'll let the video speak for itself. F.E.A.R. Series (Nailgun) The nailgun in the horror FPS series F.E.A.R. holds a special place in our hearts for its brutality, for we wholeheartedly approve of weapons that both gore and dismember to an extreme degree. But the nailgun—oh, the nailgun—does so much more than merely wound. The fact that you can stick your poor nail-encrusted victims to surfaces in all sorts of cruel, body-dangling ways is the bloody icing on the cake that earns F.E.A.R. a special shout-out on our list. We salute thee, nailgun. Alien Versus Predator Unless you've been living under a rock for the last 23 years or so, we don't really need to do much of an introduction for a game called Alien Versus Predator. Acid, sharp tails, giant mandibles, razor-sharp blades, decapitations, loss of limbs, pain, blood—what else do you need to pack into a game whose entire premise is based on killing one of the two other factions that your current character despises/hunts/fears? As always, we pity the poor humans forced to serve as squishy pincushions for this game's extraterrestrial friends.

Logitech Unveils New G300 Gaming Mouse Posted: 18 Aug 2011 10:24 AM PDT When it comes to gaming mice, the "Best PC Part I Ever Spent My Hard Earned Cash On Contest" proved that Maximum PC readers are gaga for R.A.T. Mice. and who can blame you? We love it too. But Logitech's not letting all the Cyborg love get in the way of their releases. The company just announced it has a mouse up its sleeve, too, in the form of the upcoming Logitech Gaming Mouse G300. The Logitech Gaming Mouse G300 might not have the sheer badass look of the R.A.T. line, but it offers plenty of other features – like buttons. Scads of programmable buttons! "It features nine programmable buttons that are carefully placed to be easily reachable, but also out of the way when you don't need them," Global Product Marketing Manager Chris Pate said in the blog post announcing the new mouse. "Out of the box there are three onboard profiles are configured with basic MMO, FPS, and productivity settings, and illuminated areas near the thumb glow red, blue, or green to let you know which one you're using." Want some stats? The mouse measures in at a scant 112mm long x 73mm wide x 35m high and only weighs around a quarter pound. It sports a 2500 dpi optical sensor and an ambidextrous design, while customization options abound with the use of Logitech's Gaming Software, which lets you change almost every aspect of the device. The changes store in the onboard profiles, so if you bring your mouse to a buddy's house, your custom configuration remains intact. Sound intriguing? You can preorder the Logitech Gaming Mouse G300 on Logitech's website for $40.

HP Reportedly Prepping $10 Billion for Software Company, Plans to Sell Off PC Business Posted: 18 Aug 2011 09:55 AM PDT The rumor mill spun a wild one back in March of this year when reports surfaced that Hewlett Packard was considering selling off its PC business. Quoting a Commercial Times report, news and rumor site DigiTimes said HP was shopping around its PC division to the likes of Lenovo, Foxconn, and Samsung. On hindsight, it wasn't such a wild rumor after all, and before the day is done, HP might be totally invested in software. Bloomberg is reporting that HP is getting ready to announce a $10 billion buyout of Autonomy Corp., an enterprise software firm with three separate headquarters (Cambridge, United Kingdom, and San Francisco). That's a huge investment, but it's only half of the story. According to Bloomberg, HP plans to spin-off its PC business, which would indicate it found a buyer after all. No other details are known at this time, such as who that buyer might be or what terms will be attached to the deal, but we won't have to wait long to find out. HP is supposed to report earnigs later today at 4:00PM EST. Image Credit: thevarguy.com

Your Teacher's Wrong, "Sexting" IS in the Dictionary (and so is "Retweet") Posted: 18 Aug 2011 09:35 AM PDT Just so we're clear, "sexting" is a noun that means "the sending of sexually explicit photographs or messages via mobile phone." It's a self-explanatory term to anyone locked into modern social media, and one that didn't officially exist outside of the realm of technobabble, at least until now. Sexting is one of the latest additions to the 12th edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary. So is "retweet," which qualifies as a verb meaning "(on the social networking service Twitter), report or forward a message (posted by another user)" or a noun describing "a reposted or forwarded message on Twitter, and "cyberbullying," a noun used to describe "the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature." Not all of the 400 new words are tech related, such as "mankini," a noun for "a brief one-piece swimsuit for men, with a T-back," or you can just visualize Borat. According to the U.K.'s Telegraph, Oxford selected the new words after they were entered into a database with 2 billion words from contemporary websits and texts. "It's how the dictionary has always worked -- we get as much evidence as we can so we know it's not just a small number of people using the word and it's not going to disappear," Angus Stevenson, the dictionary's editor, told Channel 4 News, according to The Telegraph. "There's no official panel of cabinet ministers for new words or anything like that." The Oxford Dictionary hasn't been shy to recognize geek terms, or even acronyms like "OMG," "FYI," and "LOL." Neither has Merriam-Webster, which recognizes such terms as "malware," "webinar," "fanboy," and "tea-bag" (yes, that tea-bag).

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MMO News

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• Ether Saga Odyssey launches Future’s End
• Towns unveiled for Golden Age
• Mortal Online (Trial) Gameplay – First Look HD
• Tank Ace open beta announced

Ether Saga Odyssey launches Future’s End Posted: 18 Aug 2011 04:33 PM PDT The Future’s End update has launched on Ether Saga Online servers today. The content update features two new instances, Twisted Moon and Sacred Hunt, in a new area designed to challenge players level 106 or higher. These areas feature epic bosses, PvE arena combat, and new gear, including the Dragon Lord and Genesis gear sets. Also added is a new glyph system, where players can activate magical glyphs to add new bonuses to their equipment, and the Mogui signets, that can be equipped to increase skills, damage output, and magic attack range. As part of the content release, all players can redeem a special pack of goods that includes mounts, potions, gear, and double experience boosts. Ether Saga Odyssey is published by Perfect World Entertainment, which also publishes Perfect World International and Forsaken World. Ether Saga Odyssey: Future’s End Screenshots: 12► Source: ETHER SAGA ODYSSEY LAUNCHES FUTURE’S END CONTENT UPDATE New adventures and bigger challenges for even the most hardcore players August 18, 2011 – Foster City, Calif. – Perfect World Entertainment Inc., a wholly owned US subsidiary of Perfect World Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: PWRD), today launched the Future’s End content update for its free-to-play fantasy adventure MMORPG, Ether Saga Odyssey. Faced with extinction, the mortals of Middle Kingdom join forces to save their race and battle even tougher monsters including the legendary Risen Phoenix. The Future’s End content update will present some of the most challenging content seen in Ether Saga Odyssey thus far.  In Twisted Moon and Sacred Hunt, two new instances, players will fight epic bosses as well as a horde of monsters in twenty rounds of arena combat that get progressively harder and yield richer rewards. Within the new zone, players level 106 and above will get to stalk elusive prey and battle vile beasts as they explore the lush expansive area. “Ether Saga Odyssey is based in a fun filled realm where players can turn into monsters and utilize combat pets, but this content update will add another dimension to the game by featuring high level content for its most hardcore players,” said Aaron Potter, Product Manager for Ether Saga Odyssey. Additional features in the Future’s End content update include: • Advanced Weapon System – Players can now further equip their character with the new powerful Dragon Lord and Genesis gear sets • Glyph System – Gain new attributes and higher stats by activating these magical glyphs that will fortify equipment. • Mogui Signets – Equip your character with powerful signets that will bolster your skills, increase damage output and magical attack range To celebrate the emergence of Future’s End, all existing and new users will get to redeem a goodie pack containing a different set of items as players level up including two never before released mounts, potions, powerful gear, and double EXP. For more information on how to redeem the item pack, visit: http://eso.perfectworld.com/futures_end. To download the game and start playing, visit: http://eso.perfectworld.com/

Towns unveiled for Golden Age Posted: 18 Aug 2011 04:01 PM PDT Aeria Games has released new information about the town system in Golden Age, its upcoming browser-based MMO, along with new screenshots. Towns in Golden Age will be designed like side-scrolling RPGs, featured in widescreen and explorable at any time when players are not managing their castles. Each will have three unique areas, and let players meet other players, add friends, customize avatars, complete quests from NPCs, and complete other business including trading and enhancing equipment. Aeria Games also publishes Eden Eternal and Call of Gods. Golden Age Town Screenshots: Source: Aeria Games Reveals RPG-Style Town Feature for Golden Age New Screenshots Released for Upcoming Premier Browser-Based RTS Title SANTA CLARA, Calif.  – Aug 19, 2011 – Aeria Games, a leading global publisher of free-to-play online games, today released new details about Golden Age, its upcoming browser-based Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game. Golden Age, like all browser-based titles at Aeria Games, is free to play and won't require a download. Golden Age's side scrolling RPG-style town is displayed in beautiful, widescreen graphics and allows players to traverse three unique areas by using a point-and-click method to control their character.  While not growing and maintaining resources in a robust castle management system, Golden Age players can explore the unique RPG-style town where they can interact with other players and NPCs. Golden Age's RPG-style town allows players to: Meet New Players – View stats, add friends, and chat with any players you meet in the town setting.  Customize your avatar appearance with various armor and gear. Complete Thousands of Quests – Interact with an assortment of NPCs to learn the tumultuous history behind Golden Land. Take on important tasks to gain experience and level up your lord. Conduct Castle Business – You'll also find helpful NPCs who can assist you in buying or selling items, strengthening equipment, and a variety of other tasks vital to building your impenetrable fortress. Golden Age is a persistent browser-based game created by China-based game developers Giant Interactive Group. Golden Age is exclusively licensed to Aeria Games and is coming soon to players in North America and Latin America. Visit the website to sign up for Closed Beta: http://goldenage.aeriagames.com.

Mortal Online (Trial) Gameplay – First Look HD Posted: 18 Aug 2011 12:57 PM PDT To Learn More About the Game, Check out our Mortal Online Page. Mortal Online is a 3D fantasy MMORPG published by Star Vault. Gameplay wise, Mortal Online was most certainly inspired my Ultima Online – as the game allows players to PvP nearly anywhere in the game world. Those who enjoy sandbox style MMORPGs may find something to like in Mortal Online. To learn more about Mortal Online check out the official MMOHut Mortal Online page which includes a detailed review, tons of screenshots, and additional videos.

Tank Ace open beta announced Posted: 18 Aug 2011 12:33 PM PDT Tank Ace’s open beta has been set to launch on September 1, 11am PDT/2pm EDT. Published by GamesCampus, Tank Ace features tactical armored warfare with World War II era tanks, battlefields, and other vehicles. Tanks can be customized with armor, camouflage, body art, kill marks, and clan insignias. The new open beta client addresses many of the bugs and issues found during closed beta. GamesCampus also publishes Heroes in the Sky and Shot Online. Tank Ace Gameplay Screenshot Source: GAMESCAMPUS TO DEPLOY THE OPEN BETA FOR ITS WWII WARFARE GAME, TANK ACE, ON SEPTEMBER 1 Tank Commanders Get Ready To Report To Your Tanks On September 1st at 11 AM PDT Sunnyvale, Calif. -  (August 18, 2011) – Leading online game publisher, GamesCampus.com (www.GamesCampus.com), announced today that it will launch the open beta for its WWII tank warfare third person shooter, Tank Ace, on September 1 at 11 AM PDT.  To learn more about the game and to register players can visit the website at http://tankace.gamescampus.com. After a successful closed beta, Tank Ace is now headed into Open Beta. Using tactical-warfare style combat, Tank Ace is an action-packed tactical-shooter featuring realistic World War II battlefields and vehicles based on actual historical facts.  Players will choose historically accurate WWII tanks and then customize them by adding additional armor, different styles of camouflage, body art, kill marks, and clan insignias. “We were really happy with the results of the Tank Ace closed beta and now we look forward to throwing open the hatch for the open beta players to get in the driver’s seat on September 1,” said Uyen Uyen Ton Nu, Head of Marketing at GamesCampus.com.  “With the combination of the addictive tactical-warfare style combat and the all-new graphics and textures, new modes and quests along with the ability to choose and customize historically accurate tanks, Tank Ace is an amazing gaming experience.” Tank Ace is packed with engaging battles and accurate specifications like realistic recoil action and tank tactics.  This action-packed tactical-shooter features realistic World War II battlefields and vehicle stats based on actual historical facts.  Players will create their own clans and devise winning strategies as they utilize terrain features, coordinate assaults by using historically accurate tactics and more!  Just some of the other gripping features include World War II Factions including Russia, Germany and the U.S.A, easy to pick-up controls and an Area Specific Damage System.  In the game, players will lay an ambush, outflank the enemy divisions and charge across the battlefield in the mightiest war machine ever created! For additional details on Tank Ace please visit http://tankace.gamescampus.com.

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MMO Updates

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• Troy Online launching tomorrow
• Exclusive: Lucent Heart's Scaena zones and bosses
• New DC Universe video explains SOE's Lantern Corps focus
• SOE releases new PlanetSide 2 art and screens
• Gamescom 2011: Guild Wars 2 shows off 40 minutes of gameplay
• Gamescom 2011: Wargaming.net reveals World of Battleships and World of Tanks trailers
• Gamescom 2011: Transformers Universe reveals the Brawler
• Gamescom 2011: WildStar reveals first three races and classes
• The Daily Grind: What's your favorite game world?
• Rumor: Entire Faxion Online team laid off
• New Rusty Hearts dev diary gets bossy
• Former Frogster CEO forms new F2P publishing company
• Fallen Earth store goes all the way with a 100% rebate event
• A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Whose side is time on, anyway?
• Players bracing for EverQuest II's GU61 AA changes
• Choose My Adventure: RIFTastic!
• Zentia's 1.4 update heralds Dragon Boat Festival and more
• Blizzard quashes speculation about a potential World of StarCraft
• Massively Speaking Episode 161
• Nexon unveils Dragon Nest launch trailer
• Gamescom 2011: SWTOR wins Best Online Game and introduces Huttball
• One Shots: That looks pretty intimidating for a starting zone
• Free for All: The 'fall' of free-to-play
• Planet War's open beta features contests, in-game prizes
• DDO's Secrets of the Artificers crafts a release date
• Single-player games will be dead in three years, says industry analyst
• Wizard101 voyaging to China
• LotRO's Draigoch revealed in his full glory

Troy Online launching tomorrow Posted: 18 Aug 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Events, in-game, Launches, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play ALT1Games has just issued a press release regarding Troy Online's official release date (it's tomorrow, August 19th, if you're curious). The free-to-play fantasy MMO has been in open beta testing since August 12th, and aside from a little login server switcheroo, players will be getting the same game experience when they join at release. The devs have simplified the registration process in an attempt to make the game accessible to more users, and you can now connect and play without signing up for a full membership. All it takes is your registration on the Troy Online homepage and you'll be free to enjoy the wholesale fantasy bloodletting on display as well as the title's traditional MMO classes and mythology-inspired setting. ALT1Games is also running a few "final test events," and more information on these -- as well as how to sign up and download the game -- is available at the official Troy Online website. Troy Online launching tomorrow originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Exclusive: Lucent Heart's Scaena zones and bosses Posted: 18 Aug 2011 09:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Lore, Patches, Previews, PvE, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries If you were looking for something a little more "traditional fantasy" after Lucent Heart's music-and-dance routine video last week, then today's dev diary will suit your tastes. In it, the folks at Gamania have delivered to us an exclusive preview of the upcoming Scaena update's zones and bosses. The world of Acadia is being enhanced with the Witch's Cliff on the continent of Cropolis; the level 65-69 Heart of Fire in the lands of Fostyre; the crafting hub Minotsize, City of Industry; and the continents of Edea and Aislan. The dev diary also highlights two of the opponents that players can expect to encounter: the formidable God's Advocate in Mount Destiny and the scorpion-riding Medea in the Witch's Cliff. Hit the break for the full scoop, and check out screenshots of some of the bosses and zones in the gallery below. Gallery: Lucent Heart: Scaena Continue reading Exclusive: Lucent Heart's Scaena zones and bosses Exclusive: Lucent Heart's Scaena zones and bosses originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

New DC Universe video explains SOE's Lantern Corps focus Posted: 18 Aug 2011 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Galleries, Screenshots, Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, Lore, MMO industry, Patches, News items, DC Universe Online If you've been wondering why Sony Online Entertainment chose to focus on the Lantern Corps for DC Universe Online's first game pack, a new video featuring creative director Jens Andersen has your answer. "The Green Lantern Corps gives us a great stepping stone off of Earth, out of our solar system, and into the galaxy at large so we can begin exploring the great expanse of the DC universe," Andersen explains. So while Gotham City and Metropolis are still the heart of the DCUO experience, players and DC comics fans alike will be adventuring beyond the familiar confines of humanity's home planet as the game grows. Aside from that, Andersen says that SOE was keen to get light powers into the game as well, and players can use both light and fear variants to wreak havoc on their enemies. You can read more about the new Fight for the Light pack on the official DCUO website, and don't forget to check out the new screens below (and the video after the cut). Gallery: DCUO: The Green Lantern Continue reading New DC Universe video explains SOE's Lantern Corps focus New DC Universe video explains SOE's Lantern Corps focus originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

SOE releases new PlanetSide 2 art and screens Posted: 18 Aug 2011 08:30 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Galleries, Screenshots, MMO industry, New titles, News items, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2 Sony Online Entertainment is sloooooowly letting a few PlanetSide 2 teases slip through the cracks, and the latest is a set of screenshots and artwork showing off the upcoming massively multiplayer shooter's dazzling visuals. The new gallery features a bunch of combat shots complete with dirty uniforms, spiffy muzzle flares, and some nifty surrounding terrain. You'll also spot a few dead bodies in the background, and the overall mood evoked is one of gritty sci-fi realism. SOE has also tossed in a couple of concept art pieces for your viewing pleasure, so take a look at the gallery below to see some Terran Republic stealth and medic gear. In other PlanetSide 2 news, rumor has it that the title won't be coming to the Playstation 3 console. "I think I would have been told about it by now," SOE's Matt Higby reportedly told IncGamers. Gallery: PlanetSide 2 SOE releases new PlanetSide 2 art and screens originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Gamescom 2011: Guild Wars 2 shows off 40 minutes of gameplay Posted: 18 Aug 2011 08:15 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Guild Wars 2, Massively Event Coverage Hey Guild Wars 2 fans, bummed that you're not at Gamescom right now getting your paws, claws, or ferns on the game? We have the next best thing: nearly 40 minutes of video footage for you to digest. On the Gamescom floor, ArenaNet's Chris Lye took time to walk Wartower.de through the full Guild Wars 2 demo for the event. During the tour, he shows us character customization, the Asura, and the Charr starting experience, capping it off with a giant dragon boss encounter. So what's Lye looking forward to playing the most when the game goes live? "I've already found it: the Asura Thief. I love the size, I love the animations on the Asura, and I love how great they are as Thieves." Grab some popcorn and settle in for the full video after the jump! Continue reading Gamescom 2011: Guild Wars 2 shows off 40 minutes of gameplay Gamescom 2011: Guild Wars 2 shows off 40 minutes of gameplay originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Gamescom 2011: Wargaming.net reveals World of Battleships and World of Tanks trailers Posted: 18 Aug 2011 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Historical, Real life, Trailers, Video, Events, real-world, MMO industry, New titles, News items, War, Free-to-play, World of Tanks, Miscellaneous Wargaming.net is having a busy Gamescom, as the company has not one, but three MMORPGs to hype. Yesterday we brought you a first look at World of Warplanes via an exclusive in-depth interview, and today we've got two new trailers for your perusal (one for World of Battleships and one for World of Tanks). World of Battleships is, of course, the newest thoroughbred in Wargaming.net's stable, and the Gamescom trailer is a high-quality affair that captures the heavy metal feel of the game and the awesome power inherent in the warships that players will be steering across the high seas. Unfortunately there's not a lot of gameplay footage (and what little there is is highly stylized and subjected to various video filters), so we'll have to wait for a followup clip to get a close look at visuals, game mechanics, and the like. The World of Tanks trailer is also heavy on the CG and features a series of violent vignettes designed to show off a few of the game's more noteworthy armored vehicles. You'll find both clips after the cut. Continue reading Gamescom 2011: Wargaming.net reveals World of Battleships and World of Tanks trailers Gamescom 2011: Wargaming.net reveals World of Battleships and World of Tanks trailers originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Gamescom 2011: Transformers Universe reveals the Brawler Posted: 18 Aug 2011 07:30 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, Massively Event Coverage, Transformers Universe Gamescom, roll out! At this week's convention, Jagex set up a Transformers Universe booth to demonstrate some of the customization that will be in next year's game and give players a taste of the choices they'll be making when the game goes live. The team also used this opportunity to talk about the first revealed class, the Brawler, and show concept art of these hulking piles of scrap metal and stubborn perseverance. Senior Producer Kris Jones says that the Brawler will be the front line of defense in a fight: "Players who like to engage as the tank in co-op team play will be drawn to this Brawler Class. The strength and resilience of this class makes it the perfect choice for those who like to get up close in a battle environment, for those who like a good brawl." You can check out the Brawler in the gallery below. Transformers Universe is slated for a 2012 release, and interested players are encouraged to sign up to receive more info about the upcoming beta. Gallery: Transformers Universe Gamescom 2011: Transformers Universe reveals the Brawler originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Gamescom 2011: WildStar reveals first three races and classes Posted: 18 Aug 2011 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Classes, Races, Massively Event Coverage, WildStar After yesterday's unveiling of Carbine Studio's colorful entry into the MMO races, we've been understandably curious about this WildStar and could have s'more, please? Fortunately, a fan site has dug out some details about three of the game's races and classes, all of which can be seen in the hilarious trailer that Carbine released. On the racial side, players have the Granok, Human and Aurin to choose from. The Granok are hulking, cigar-chomping slabs of rage, the Humans are exiles looking for a new home, and the Aurin are cute bunny-people who must go through Q-tips like mad. As for classes, players who prefer to get up close and personal with their enemies would do well to choose the Warrior, who boasts a number of strong tech and melee attacks, which are powered by fuel cells and adrenaline, respectively. Spellslingers use a pair of special pistols to stay on top of ranged damage, relying on a balanced rotation of magic and gunplay to keep up with DPS. And finally there's the Esper, your standard Mage class, who uses psychic spells like Telekenetic Strike to do massive damage to helpless enemies. There are reportedly more classes and races than just these, and we'll keep our eyes on Carbine as more details pour out about this promising title. Gamescom 2011: WildStar reveals first three races and classes originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: What's your favorite game world? Posted: 18 Aug 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous Today we're going to ask you to strip away your normal preconceptions of what makes an engaging MMO, whether it be the combat, the features, the customization, or the IP -- and look at the game world itself without any of those distractions. I guess this goes hand-in-hand with Environment Week that's going on right now in our One Shots column. Out of all of the MMOs I've played, only a small handful have bothered to construct worlds that teemed with personality, history, and unique flavor. When I'm really honest about it, most of these settings are about as generic as can be, hardly indistinguishable from the others. Yet while many games may tack on interesting elements to the flannel board of a boring world, occasionally developers put just as much time and effort creating a place that dares you to explore and get to know it intimately. So today I'd like to know what your favorite game world is -- and why. What makes or made it so special? What about it do you wish other MMOs would emulate? 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: What's your favorite game world? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Rumor: Entire Faxion Online team laid off Posted: 17 Aug 2011 08:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, Free-to-play, Rumors, Faxion Online Although the Faxion Online team has weathered layoffs before, today it looks as though none have survived a recent culling. According to a forum post citing a former UTV employee, it's rumored that the entire team has been given their pink slips. "It is now officially dead," the unnamed source wrote. "They laid off the rest of the Faxion team, so there is no one left to do anything." Disney recently bought out UTV Ignition, which oversees Faxion Online, and there was some speculation that the Mouse House might be making cuts in this struggling PvP MMO and elsewhere. So far this is an unconfirmed rumor, and it remains to be seen what impact this will have on Faxion going forward if true. Rumor: Entire Faxion Online team laid off originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

New Rusty Hearts dev diary gets bossy Posted: 17 Aug 2011 07:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, News items, PvE, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries It's time yet again for another Rusty Hearts video dev diary. This time the focus is on the big baddies that players will be pitting their skills against in the anime-style brawler. We're talking, of course, about boss fights. As any brawler or beat-'em-up fan should know, no true game of the genre is complete without a challenging boss fight to cap off a level. The dev diary introduces players to a couple of the early bosses they'll be encountering, such as the nasty Blood Skeleton and the hulking Butcher. In addition, it details the rewards players can reap for defeating these challenging fights, such as copious amounts of gold, high-quality equipment, and high-value loot cards. For the full diary, including some footage of players facing off against the game's many bosses, jump on past the cut for the full video. Continue reading New Rusty Hearts dev diary gets bossy New Rusty Hearts dev diary gets bossy originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Former Frogster CEO forms new F2P publishing company Posted: 17 Aug 2011 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Culture, Economy, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Miscellaneous Fans of free-to-play games just received yet another outlet for their addiction, as former Frogster CEO Andreas Weidenhaupt has announced the founding of a new publishing company, named Infernum. The company will be working to bring free-to-play MMOs from around the world to Western audiences. Weidenhaupt claims, "The market for high-quality MMO games that are free to play is growing dynamically and we intend to become a major player in the space." The company is already hard at work bringing those "high-quality MMO games" to its customers, with Weidenhaupt noting, "We've already begun assembling a top-notch team and are looking to fully utilize our resources by bringing some great games to the western world in 2012." So if you're in the market for a shiny new F2P title, keep your eye on Infernum and find out what it will be bringing to the table. Former Frogster CEO forms new F2P publishing company originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Fallen Earth store goes all the way with a 100% rebate event Posted: 17 Aug 2011 06:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fallen Earth, Business models, News items, Free-to-play, Promotions, Post-Apocalyptic You know what's better than spending a bunch of money on buying in-game items for your character in the soon-to-be free-to-play Fallen Earth? Spending a bunch of money on buying in-game items for your character and then getting all of that money back. Sounds too good to be true? It's not. From August 18th to August 23rd, GamersFirst is holding a 100% rebate promotion for the game, where every purchase will come with a nice big rebate of every credit used in the purchase. Now, before you ask, it's not quite free -- the rebate comes after the end of the promotion, meaning that if you spend $20 during the promotion, you will be credited with $20 after the promotion ends. Still, it's a chance to pick up all sorts of fun accessories, several of which are deeply discounted during the promotion. Fallen Earth players would be well advised to browse the market and decide if there's anything worth buying -- after all, it all comes back to you in the end. Fallen Earth store goes all the way with a 100% rebate event originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Whose side is time on, anyway? Posted: 17 Aug 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Classes, Game mechanics, Opinion, A Mild-Mannered Reporter So last week I promised our next little enemy spotlight, but that was before I realized that this past weekend was that delayed double-experience extravaganza in City of Heroes. (I could have checked a calendar, sure, but I assume they're a form of witchcraft.) Based on past experience, this week should be a recounting of my time in the magical land of double or nothing, right? Well, not so much. Due to a perfect storm of circumstances, I didn't get any significant leveling in, and this weekend is also coming before a dump of several new powers rather than just after. So unlike last time, this time I mostly just took part in other activities. (If you really have to know what I was doing, tune back in on Saturday.) So instead, I'm going to take the time to talk a little bit about Temporal Manipulation, partly because I'd like a bit of a do-over for the past weekend, and partly because I'm not sure if I like it just from reading about it. It strikes me as a set that could be very good, but in its own way that might be kind of a bad thing. Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Whose side is time on, anyway? A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Whose side is time on, anyway? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Players bracing for EverQuest II's GU61 AA changes Posted: 17 Aug 2011 05:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play Big changes are afoot in the world of Norrath, or at least the version of it on display in EverQuest II. Game Update 61 is just around the corner, and ZAM has a brief rundown on the major alternate advancement and tradeskill changes coming when the patch goes live. While many players are cautiously optimistic, some are concerned over the fact that such sweeping changes will affect their playstyles. How sweeping, exactly? Well, every character is getting a free AA respec, so there's your first clue. Also of note are the new class, subclass, and tradeskill trees available at level 10. Of particular concern to some is the fact that the Shadows AA tree will now be off limits to characters under level 50, depriving them of some very useful health, power, and run-speed AAs and making life that much harder for dedicated crafting characters. In other EQII news, EQ2Wire offers a brief look at the veteran reward changes hinted at during last month's Fan Faire. While no release date is forthcoming, producer Dave "Smokejumper" Georgeson says that "the design is outlined and we're committed to the concept." Players bracing for EverQuest II's GU61 AA changes originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Choose My Adventure: RIFTastic! Posted: 17 Aug 2011 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Opinion, Races, Choose My Adventure, RIFT, Miscellaneous Frenzy engulfed this last week's poll, which is one of the reasons I tweeted about it so often. EverQuest II and RIFT battled to the death over which would hold the attention of this writer for the next five weeks. Ultimately, the power of Regulos overpowered the Norrathians, but not without a fight. Usually the first community manager or game developer who catches wind of his or her game's appearance on Choose My Adventure wins. And just like past devs, Community Manager for EverQuest II Tiffany "Amnerys" Spence tweeted and posted in the EQII forums to encourage fans to vote for her game. However, Lindsay Lockhart, Lead Defiant Lore Writer for RIFT, would not have Telara beaten by Norrath, so she tweeted about it and passed the information off to Community Manager Erick "Zann" Adams, who posted it on RIFT's Facebook page. Immediately, RIFT's votes doubled then grew quickly after that. Congratulations to the RIFT fans. I hope I do your game justice, but I do want to give a shout out to all the EQII fans. I hope you stick around for this. You put up an awesome fight and certainly made the poll interesting to watch. As for this week, we step into RIFT's character creator. All the decisions are up to you! Should I roll Defiant or Guardian -- Warrior or Mage? Just cruise past the break for all the details! Continue reading Choose My Adventure: RIFTastic! Choose My Adventure: RIFTastic! originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Zentia's 1.4 update heralds Dragon Boat Festival and more Posted: 17 Aug 2011 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Events, in-game, Patches, News items, Free-to-play Fans of ChangYou's cutesy Chinese-flavored MMO Zentia are in for a tasty summer treat today. The company is wrapping up the season with the launch of update 1.4, which brings with it the first part of the third Heavenly Test, known as the Ten-Position Test. No, that's not veiled innuendo -- Zentia's Heavenly Tests are world events in which elite groups of players compete to advance the server and level-cap. The patch also offers new disciplines, quests, drop-rate tweaks, paintings, updates to the cash shop (including new pirate-themed costumes), and a new instance named Silent Altar Challenge, which is aimed at highbie players. Coinciding with this content update is the introduction of a new themed event called the Dragon Boat Festival. Running from August 17th to the 24th, the festival encourages players to donate raw materials to NPCs called Provincial Officers, who will craft the titular dragon boats and teach players how to make party food known as zongzi. A "surprise" awaits those who lend their materials to the project, so if you're in the mood for a snack and a boat ride, don't delay. Past the break, we've included an official trailer highlighting the best of the patch. Enjoy! Continue reading Zentia's 1.4 update heralds Dragon Boat Festival and more Zentia's 1.4 update heralds Dragon Boat Festival and more originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Blizzard quashes speculation about a potential World of StarCraft Posted: 17 Aug 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, MMO industry, News items There's a very good reason why the now-infamous World of StarCraft mod had so many people so excited -- it seems like a pretty obvious project. After all, Blizzard has certainly made a big impression on the MMO world with World of Warcraft, so it seems like a no-brainer that their science fiction RTS might follow a similar path. Unfortunately, those of you waiting for just such an announcement have been told the exact opposite -- Blizzard currently has no plans to adapt the StarCraft setting to an MMO. According to senior VP Frank Pearce, it's not so much a case of not liking the idea as not having available staff and time to pursue the angle, with the company's teams currently occupied by Diablo III, the mysterious Titan project, further sequels to StarCraft II, and of course World of Warcraft. While the title remains in Blizzard's trademark arsenal, it doesn't look as if the company will be using it for a game any time in the near future. It's good news for players who want the series to remain as an RTS, but bad news for the many fans hoping to make their own mark on the galaxy. Blizzard quashes speculation about a potential World of StarCraft originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Massively Speaking Episode 161 Posted: 17 Aug 2011 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: Podcasts, Culture, News items, Opinion, Humor, Massively Speaking Massively Speaking Episode 161 is back this week to bring you all the latest MMO news with your hosts Shawn and Rubi. This time around, the focus is Gamescom 2011, which exploded with new game announcements, video trailers, screenshots, and "World of" games. OK, maybe just one of those, but Shawn and Rubi sure had fun making up new ones. If you're interested in learning more about the Game Programming Instructor position Shawn has mentioned on previous episodes, check out the job listing or contact Shawn for more info. Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to shawn@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air! Get the podcast: [iTunes] Subscribe to Massively Speaking directly in iTunes. [RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly. Listen here on the page: Read below the cut for the full show notes. Massively Speaking is the official podcast of Massively.com. Hosted by Editor-in-Chief Shawn Schuster and Community Manager Rubi Bayer, Massively Speaking takes on the week's biggest news and dev interviews with plenty of opinion, rants, and laughs thrown in for good measure. Join us every Wednesday afternoon to listen in and see what we'll say next! Continue reading Massively Speaking Episode 161 Massively Speaking Episode 161 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Nexon unveils Dragon Nest launch trailer Posted: 17 Aug 2011 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, Lore, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Dragon Nest Nexon has published a launch trailer coinciding with the kickoff of its newest free-to-play title, and fans of Dragon Nest will want to take a gander at the clip for a primer on the fantasy title's lore elements as well as a few glimpses of gameplay proper. Dragon Nest appears to have all the makings of a traditional fantasy romp if the trailer is anything to go by. There's a kidnapped young girl, an evil enemy, lost hope, heroes to light the way, and plenty of combat-related hijinks. Dragon Nest also features four playable characters (or classes, if you prefer the traditional moniker), and each offers a choice of two sub-classes at level 15. You can learn more about the game at Nexon's official website, and don't forget to watch the video after the cut! Continue reading Nexon unveils Dragon Nest launch trailer Nexon unveils Dragon Nest launch trailer originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Gamescom 2011: SWTOR wins Best Online Game and introduces Huttball Posted: 17 Aug 2011 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, New titles, PvP, Star Wars: The Old Republic The excitement revolving around Star Wars: The Old Republic at Gamescom 2011 apparently cannot be contained. Even those voting for the best-in-show cannot help but recognize BioWare's MMO for its achievements. Although Electronic Arts' single-player title Battlefield 3 won the top slot, The Old Republic was voted Best Online Game. Indeed, this game is powerful as analysts have foreseen. In addition to taking home the Best Online Game title, the EA booth introduced a new PvP arena that features something different from the typical faction vs. faction combat. In the new Warzone, called Huttball, players of opposing teams attempt to grab the center ball and score points by crossing over their opponents' goal line. And it just wouldn't be Nar Shaddaa without a little bloodshed, right? Instead of just trying to recapture the ball from the opposite team, you are welcomed -- nay, encouraged -- to strike your enemy down with all your hatred! If that enemy happens to be of the same faction, he's fair game in Huttball. Remember, what happens in Nar Shaddaa stays in Nar Shaddaa. Darth Hater nabbed some footage of Huttball in action. If you speak German or absolutely have to catch the latest TOR visuals, force leap past the break for the footage. Continue reading Gamescom 2011: SWTOR wins Best Online Game and introduces Huttball Gamescom 2011: SWTOR wins Best Online Game and introduces Huttball originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

One Shots: That looks pretty intimidating for a starting zone Posted: 17 Aug 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Free-to-play, One Shots, Allods Online Allods Online players are enjoying a new content update these days, but there's still a lot to be said for what came earlier. Check out today's One Shots image from Jane: This screenshot was taken in the League starting zone, Evermeet Isle. I love this particular island because of the magical atmosphere that surrounds you at arrival. It gives this zone a a very intense feeling, especially when you see an astral ship beyond the horizon. We're revisiting an old favorite theme this week on One Shots: environments. The game world is an area that most developers put a huge amount of effort into, and it shows. Do you have a favorite landscape, particularly eye-catching weather effect, or hidden jewel in an out-of-the-way location? Snap a screenshot of your favorite MMO area, tell us a bit about what and where it is, and send it to oneshots@massively.com. We'll be featuring the best of them all next week! Gallery: One Shots: 2011 One Shots: That looks pretty intimidating for a starting zone originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Free for All: The 'fall' of free-to-play Posted: 17 Aug 2011 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Screenshots, Launches, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual, Humor, Free for All Here in Texas we have been suffering from one of the worst heat waves in the history of the state. It's the type of constant heat that makes you mad at something, perhaps the sky or the sun. It's not logical, but you start to get mad at the state for being where it is. Then you start to get angry because your lawn is dying off or because your electricity bill is almost double what it was the year before. The next logical thing is to dream of colder times. I have already begun to fantasize about wrapping myself up for a crisp, cold winter's walk with the dogs. Hot cider, the holidays... it's all coming soon. I hope. The next several months will also be the time to keep an eye on a bunch of developing titles. Click past the cut and let's look at what makes me so excited for this fall! Continue reading Free for All: The 'fall' of free-to-play Free for All: The 'fall' of free-to-play originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Planet War's open beta features contests, in-game prizes Posted: 17 Aug 2011 12:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Contests, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Browser, Miscellaneous Planet War's beta phases are moving right along, and today marks the start of the sci-fi browser title's official open beta. Getting in on the action is as easy as navigating to the game's official website and signing up for a free account. There's no download (and no cost, as Planet War is free-to-play), so there's really nothing stopping you from checking it out. What sets the game apart from the legions of other browser games clamoring for your hard-earned free time? Contests, basically, and YooGames is running a lot of them during the buildup to the title's official release. According to the company's latest press release, "events include building the largest army of commanders, racing towards the best technology, and so much more." Head to the official Planet War website and get your free account to see exactly how much more. Planet War's open beta features contests, in-game prizes originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

DDO's Secrets of the Artificers crafts a release date Posted: 17 Aug 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Patches, Previews, News items, Free-to-play With Gamescom now in full swing, Turbine has taken the opportunity to announce a release date for the upcoming Dungeons and Dragons Online Update 11, Secrets of the Artificers. Those of you who can't wait to get your hands on the new content don't have to wait too much longer because the update will be hitting live servers on September 12th, according to a press release sent out by Turbine today. Secrets of the Artificers brings a new class in the form of the crafty (Eheheh) Artificer, which allows players to sneak like a Rogue, blast like a Wizard, and generally destroy everything in a fantastic fashion. It also brings the new House Cannith enclave, new raids and dungeons, and new crafting levels all the way up to level 150. And lastly, we've got some new preview pictures for the upcoming update, so check out the gallery below to sate your appetite for Dungeons and Dragons goodness. Gallery: Dungeons and Dragons Online Update 11 Preview DDO's Secrets of the Artificers crafts a release date originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Single-player games will be dead in three years, says industry analyst Posted: 17 Aug 2011 11:30 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, News items, Consoles, Miscellaneous So game development studios desperately want to move the entirety of our hobby online in order to mimic the recurring revenue model of MMORPGs. That's not exactly news, but it is news when an industry analyst makes an eyebrow-raising claim regarding the immediate future of the genre. To that effect, Eurogamer recently attended a "closed-door, Sony-organized panel discussion on the future of video games," which featured an analyst predicting the end of single-player titles by 2014. Mark Cerny, a "veteran video game consultant," used the 2009 single-player RPG Demon's Souls as an example, saying that its mixture of traditional offline gameplay and social connectivity to other gamers experiencing the same title is the wave of the future. "The funny thing here is, we don't even know what to call this. Is it single-player or is it multiplayer? We don't even have the words. It's kind of Orwellian. If you don't have any word for freedom you can't have a revolution," Cerny said. What exactly is that revolution, and will it be good for gamers? Check back in 2014 to find out. Single-player games will be dead in three years, says industry analyst originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Wizard101 voyaging to China Posted: 17 Aug 2011 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, Free-to-play, Kids, Wizard101 Never underestimate the power of magic or kids accessing their parents' wallets. That's what we've learned from KingsIsle over the past few years, as its Wizard101 has grown into a powerhouse slugger that knocks down barriers of all types: age, social groups, and most importantly for the accounting department, world regions. Today we've learned that KingsIsle has struck a deal with Taomee Holdings Limited to bring Wizard101 to China, and in so doing greatly expand the game's market. Taomee specializes in online gaming that's angled for children, so this seems like a perfect match. Chinese players should see a localized version of Wizard101 sometime next year. KingsIsle also says that Wizard101's website netted over 13 million unique visitors during the month of July, a strong indication of just how big this game has grown. Wizard101 voyaging to China originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

LotRO's Draigoch revealed in his full glory Posted: 17 Aug 2011 10:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, Free-to-play While we've previously been treated to concept art of Lord of the Rings Online's new 24-man raid boss, we haven't seen how the dragon Draigoch actually looked in game... until now. Today Turbine released three screenshots showcasing its ginormous dragon, and we have to admit: The dude looks intimidating. Glowy eyes? Check. Fire breath? Check. Squatting on a pile of treasure? Check. Horns, claws and leathery wings? Check. Hipster beard? Uh... check! It is surprising to see a dragon with a beard, although it does lend Draigoch an aura of maturity. Well, that and the possibility that he's planning to audition for ZZ Top. Draigoch is one of the last of the great dragons of Middle-earth, and Turbine has said that he will not only talk but lip-sync his dialogue to players. You can check out Draigoch's photo shoot in the gallery below. Gallery: Lord of the Rings Online Core Gallery LotRO's Draigoch revealed in his full glory originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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