Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates

PAX: Double Dragon Neon Brings Back the ’80s, But Not in a Good Way
Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition: Every Detail On Gameplay & Tweaks
New York Comic-Con’s Cutest Cosplayers Photo Gallery
Blizzard continues shedding staff in Korea
The Best and Worst Video Game Compilations

PAX: Double Dragon Neon Brings Back the ’80s, But Not in a Good Way

Posted: 07 Apr 2012 03:53 AM PDT

Max Payne and I go way back. Throughout the series’ first two installments, I was
wholly immersed in its stark shadows, smoky atmosphere, and hard-boiled
dialogue. I brandished my pistols and dove sideways more times than I
could count.
I cherished the horror and violence of his revenge as if it were
written by Raymond Chandler himself, and yet, a place that I’d never
experience Max Payne’s world was online. That void was quickly remedied
when I got my hands on a small slice of the multiplayer portion of
Rockstar’s next effort, Max
Payne 3.

MP3 is attempting to destroy
the barriers between single and multiplayer in a wide variety of ways. We’ve
written about the solo portion before,
but this time we got to spend some time in the online Gang Wars.
The story in Gang Wars, the most fleshed out mode of multiplayer, runs
alongside that of the solo campaign. The skirmishes you take part in
online will oftentimes be set moments before Max’s arrival to a
location during the story, or sometimes in the charred remains of where
his whirlwind tour of revenge previously swept through. While third-person works fine offline, the perspective can oftentimes lead to
ineligent combat that feels more like a frantic crapshoot than a
strategic faceoff; even phenomenal titles like Red
Dead Redemption suffer in
moments of intense action. While I was a bit worried that MP3′s
multiplayer would stall under the same stress, I’m happy to report that
the impeccable energy from the series’ singleplayer campaigns transfers
over quite well into the online arena. Yes, there were still a handful
of moments where it seemed like my opponent and I both cracked under
pressure, especially once combat became an up close affair, but the
game remained a controlled experience for the most part.

Rockstar showed off a slew of
game matches, most of which were slight variations on genre classics
like team deathmatch and king of the hill. One unique mode is called
Payne Killer, which starts off as a free-for-all until someone scores
the first kill. After this occurs, the killer becomes Max Payne, while
the victim transforms into his singleplayer sidekick Passos. These two
characters come equipped with special weapons, higher health, and
unique abilities. It then becomes the task of the remaining players to
work together in taking down these two protagonists. Whoever scores the
kill against Max or Passos earns the right to play as the powerful
hero. This mode encouraged players to work together in short spurts to
take down the two powerhouses, but those alliances you make will
quickly be severed once one member gets the kill and joins the other
side.

Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition: Every Detail On Gameplay & Tweaks

Posted: 06 Apr 2012 09:53 PM PDT

It's a bank holiday, there is no news – so instead we're going to give you a bumper load of details on this year's most important PC game.

No, we're not kidding. Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition might only be a remade, repackaged digital version of the classic RPG but it's still the game that has no doubt made you into the shrivelling , excuse of a person you have become today. Who needed friends when you had Minsc and Edgar? Don't pretend to deny it.

So rather than arbitrarily re-iterate what we already know – yes, it is going to be on PC, Mac and iPad and will be out in Summer 2012 – we thought it'd be more helpful to track down some of the details we can garner from Tweet-happy head honcho Trent Oster (formerly of BioWare and, before that, Black Isle). So here it is, everything you need to know about Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition as Tweeted by Trent Oster:

Gameplay

There will only be one miniature, giant space hamster.
There will be new content added into BGEE in the form of new characters and new locations. No details on what this will take just yet, except that it will be a mix of areas added into the main game and sections for a new adventure/expansion. Sounds like it code be a healthy chunk of content, especially since Trent doesn't know "how we are going to build that much art."
The new content will be separate and "can be ignored".
Both BGEE and BG2EE will contain the additional content from their related expansion packs – Tales Of The Sword Coast and Throne Of Bhaal.
Characters will transfer from BGEE to BG2EE.
BGEE will still be built on DD 2nd Edition rules. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?
May include additional difficulty modes, as inspired by community mods.
New equipment will be added into the game to cover for neglected classes.
There will be an increased level cap, though not too high – Baldur's Gate encounters don't scale very well, apparently.
BGEE will feature Baldur's Gate 2: Throne Of Bhaal's weapon proficiencies, classes and kits. There may even be new classes and kits added in.
Original Baldur's Gate characters will have new, text-only dialogue. None of the original characters will have new voice work.
Enemies from Baldur's Gate 2 will be implemented into BGEE.
Dialogue system will remain the same – no Mass Effect style convo wheel.
No content will be removed.

Visual/Audio Improvements

Online

Will be released in "summer". No specific date just yet to allow for flexibility and ensure a good quality game.
Won't cost too much, Beamdog is committed to making BGEE a great buy.
Currently planned for a digital-only release, though there may be a disc version due to demand.
Should come in at under 2GB for iPad limit.
Beamdog has been in talks with Atari for about two years, way before Baldur's Gate arrived on GOG.com
Android tablets will be a potential option.
Trying to embrace the Weidu method of mods. Trent wants to get mods compatible across all platforms. There may be a new, better mod management system.
Some mods will be included as "canon".
Will be looking at ways of making modding easier, and compatible with earlier, existing mods.
Could come to iPhone post-ship.
EA and BioWare have no input in BGEE or BG2EE. Trent Oster and EA "don't share views on games".
The more successful BGEE is, the more additions the team can bring over to BG2EE. Big success = more new content.
Won't be on consoles.
UI will change depending on platform.
Icewind Dale content is not yet available for Beamdog.
French will be one of the supported languages.

THE BIG NEWS

Baldur's Gate 3 is the ultimate goal, and is dependant on the success of BGEE and BG2EE. Planescape: Torment could even become a future project.

New York Comic-Con’s Cutest Cosplayers Photo Gallery

Posted: 06 Apr 2012 08:23 PM PDT

New York Comic-Con's Cutest Cosplayers

Everyone loves cosplay galleries — at least, if the amount of traffic, comments, and links they get is any indication. And hey, why not? The amount of attention some people put into their costumes is admirable, sometimes maybe even borderline-crazy. But when you’ve been doing this as long as we have, all those costumes start to blur together. Girls in lovingly detailed but inappropriately skimpy spandex thongs, folks wearing cardboard armor, scrawny guys trying to pass themselves off as muscular slabs of superheroism, hefty dudes straining the stitching on their Char Aznable uniforms… it’s the same show after show. After a while, you just need a fresh take on it all.

Luckily, we found exactly that at this year’s New York Comic-Con. Maybe it’s the family-oriented nature of the show, or maybe it’s just the event’s close proximity to Halloween. Whatever the case, the cosplayers who caught our eye were the legions of little kids roaming the show while decked out in full costumes. From classics like Batman to newfangled characters like Hatsune Miku, the under-10 set was well-represented at NYCC. And to be honest, they kind of melted our hearts. There’s something awesomely sincere about a pre-teen Doctor Who brandishing his sonic screwdriver with a determined expression on his young face that a 35-year-old in the same threads could never hope to capture.

We photographed our favorite next-gen geeks from NYCC — with their parents’ permission, of course! — and have rounded them up into this gallery so that your heart, too, can be melted. Enjoy, and prepare to say, “Awww.” (A lot!)

Photos by Catherine Nguyen.

Similar Article: http://www.1up.com/features/york-comic-con-cutest-cosplayers

New York Comic-Con’s Cutest Cosplayers Photo Gallery

Blizzard continues shedding staff in Korea

Posted: 06 Apr 2012 03:53 PM PDT

A couple of weeks ago, Blizzard Entertainment announced laying off around 600 staff globally from the company. Many point towards the sliding number of World of Warcraft users as the main catalyst. Just 5 days ago, it was announced World of Warcraft in Korea will be closing off 10 servers (link) in what is said to be a major sign of the game’s declining numbers in the country of online gaming.

Earlier today, foreign reports were pointing to Blizzard Korea shedding off numbers from its staff strength. The Korean arm once had around 330 employees during its heyday, but the number was recently reported to have trimmed down to 230 instead. Following the layoff announcement, the numbers will most probably be around 200 soon.

An anonymous staff mentioned that the folks will be working until the end of this month. Before BlizzCon 2011, I read an article by an industry analyst about how Blizzard will suffer if the secretive Project Titan is not announced at the event. To some extent, I think the analyst got it spot on.

The Best and Worst Video Game Compilations

Posted: 06 Apr 2012 09:53 AM PDT

definitely

Posted: 9 hours ago by Dub_Z

the other example of how to do it right.

thought of Metal Slug Anthology while reading this too… that was definitely not a rip off, even if everything after 3, post-Playmore is a little recycled-feeling. 1, 2, X 3 on a single disc was already a bargain.

MMORPG Blog: Online Games MMO