| A Mojave Makeover for Fallen Earth Posted: 18 May 2012 05:22 PM PDT Today, Reloaded Productions announced a new major update for Fallen Earth: Global Territory Control. The update adds new conquerable settlements and outposts throughout the world, which will grant their owners property rights such as resource extraction and passive buffs that boost core combat skills and crafting. A new 50+ PvP area, The Foothills, will give players a new area to challenge each other in. A new player-crafted technology, prospectors and harvesters, will now let players survey and extract materials passively. New Death Toll items and recipes will also be available. Other tweaks will also be found in the update, including combat trainers, merchant buyback, faster mounting, bulk purchasing, skill tree improvements, and junk-tech starting gear. Players can also get a new Light Slugthrower Rifle (an advanced version of the new Junk Tech starter rifle) for free by entering “JUNKTECH” as a promo code in-game or on the Fallen Earth website. The code expires June 1. Fallen Earth is published by GamersFirst, which also publishes APB Reloaded and Sword 2.  Fallen Earth “Park City” Gameplay Screenshot
Source: The Mojave Makeover –Massive update for Fallen Earth The Wasteland gets edgier with sweeping changes to the landscape and politic systems Irvine, Calif., May 16, 2012 – Reloaded Productions, the wholly-owned creative development studio for GamersFirst, announced a major update for the post apocalyptic Free2Play online sandbox game Fallen Earth today. Titled Global Territory Control, the update introduces entirely new game content, updated landscapes and new player-crafted technology. Key Features of the Update include 1. All new settlements and outposts throughout the world that can be conquered by each of Fallen Earth's player factions
2. Capturing settlements grants sole property rights to the owning faction, allowing them to extract valuable resources from the territory
3. The faction with the strongest territorial claim gets a passive buff improving core combat skills, Precision, Power, and Death Toll, Experience, Faction, Random AP gain, as well as harvesting and crafting speed by 5-10%
4. All new level 50+ PvP area: The Foothills, filled with rare and valuable resources
5. Brand new player-crafted technology: Prospectors and Harvesters
a. Prospectors allow players to survey for resource-rich areas
b. Harvesters allow players to set up a device to passively extract materials
6. Brand new items and recipes acquired via Death Toll The highlight of the 2.4 Global Territory Control update is the most sought after and valuable new territory, The Foothills, which promises an abundance of rare and valuable resources in the recently constructed settlement in Deadfall. Beyond the addition of Global Territory Control, the 2.4 update includes numerous tweaks and improvements to the overall user experience. This includes easy-to-use combat trainers, merchant buyback, faster mounting, bulk purchasing, easily accessible skill trees, all new "junk-tech" starter weapons and more. "Global Territory Control finally gives our faction what they’ve always wanted – control of the canyon! We’ve been listening to all the feedback from our players and are
Proud to finally release GTC and change the face of the Wasteland – so join a faction and join the fight!", says Marie Croall, Lead Designer at Reloaded Productions. As a special incentive, GamersFirst is offering gamers the Light Slugthrower Rifle. The gun is an advanced version of the all new "Junk Tech" starter rifle which features a higher damage output than its "little brother". Players can grab the Light Slugthrower rifle by simply entering the promo code "JUNKTECH" either in-game or by clicking the Redeem Code button on the Fallen Earth Website. To access the Marketplace in-game, players can click on the $ button on the bottom of their minimap. The code expires on June 1 2012. Fallen Earth is a Free2Play post-apocalyptic MMO set near the Grand Canyon in 2156. A hybrid third-person shooter and role-playing game, Fallen Earth features real-time twitch-based combat, six factions, a classless advancement system and a powerful crafting system in which players can make 95 percent of in-game items. With more than 1000 square kilometers of territory to explore, Fallen Earth players can experience an unparalleled game world while completing more than 5,500 game missions, including the ability to capture towns and territory. To get up-to-date information on GamersFirst and APB Reloaded's Community and Fan Pages, check out the following links: Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/fallenearthgame
Development Blog – http://fallenearth.gamersfirst.com/
Website – http://www.gamersfirst.com/fallenearth or www.fallenearth.com
Twitter – @FallenEarth @GamersFirst
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| MMORPG Female Character Clichés and Why They Need to Stop Posted: 18 May 2012 04:59 PM PDT By, M. Hauschel Two things are certain in life –death and taxes; another thing that could be added to the list are hyper-sexualized female characters in games. When playing video games in the genre of Anime, Fantasy, or Post-Apocalyptic, one trend that is often reoccurring across the board- sexualized characters. You may be wondering, "What's wrong with a sexy character?" to which I'd respond, "Why is she sexy?" Is she sexy because of what she's wearing? Is she sexy because she has enormous breasts? Is she sexy because of how she carries herself? Or is she sexy because she was created for the sole purpose to tantalize the male audience? If these characters are created for the male audience, what is that to suggest? With Laura Mulvey's theory on Male Gaze, describes depictions of the female body that are meant to create pleasure for the heterosexual male audience. The male is a voyeur, as women are objects for the male to view. While this theory was developed for the depiction of women on film 37 years ago, it very well can be applied to video games of today. Visual representation of women in media reflects how women are seen in society. If the vast majority of characters are seen as sexual objects instead of a complex character, women in society are still seen as objects that exist to please men, sexually or in other ways. 
The Anime girl, with much emphasis on girl, is not only a cliché in anime series, but has leaked into the world of gaming as well (Lucent Heart and Aion). She is petite, youthful, and often accompanied with an infantilized voice (In case the point of her being young was not hitting you over the head quite enough.). With her petite figure, she is well endowed with ridiculously large breasts. Her fun bags are often spilling out of her tiny outfit, as she runs around and battles foes. Speaking of battles, she will wield a weapon that her tiny frame obviously could not support. She's simultaneously hyper-sexualized and innocent, which is just a bizarre combination. She not only satisfies Loli fans, but fans of anime will appreciate her as well. This character has become dated and overdone. She is a leftover of the invasion of Japan in the 80s and 90s into the culture. The innocent schoolgirl personality with kick-ass abilities has become a formula so over processed that my eyes will glaze over when I see examples. 
The Sexy Mage, often found in fantasy-style MMORPGS (Tera, Perfect World, and Age of Conan, etc.); she is a mystical creature, that is human-like, but obviously not a human. She does not require the need of armour or clothes, because she is a magical being. The fewer clothes you see, the more magical they are! She's sexy not only because she has an awesome body, but also because she is foreign. She conjures up a desire for the exotic. She's mysterious, and comes from a world that is unknown to you! The Sexy Mage invokes the idea of a lonely basement dweller painting his Warhammer figurines. She embodies sultry sexiness, magical abilities, and a revealing outfit; an image the lonely basement dweller could conjure up to allow him to escape his grim reality. In reality, players who play a Sexy Mage character may not be live a life anywhere close to the stereotype, but that stereotype will always be attached to this character. 
If you think games set in the future have finally mastered female representation, you've guessed wrong. While Mass Effect has shown that females and males can have similar functional outfits, and have the characters remain attractive, there are examples of titles that have gone into the opposite direction. Set in the future, whether it is a sci-fi or post-apocalyptic (Fallen Earth, Firefall, etc.) and following the trend of having aesthetically pleasing characters, females in the future are often given bizarre outfits for dangerous environments. While most characters in Firefall do not have extreme cases of sexualized characteristics, their female engineer has an odd choice of attire. While the male engineer has a full outfit, with one arm revealed, the female has a similar outfit, with one arm and one leg revealed. By one leg, I mean the entire leg and half of a butt revealed. Why? Engineers need to be half-naked, I guess. The focus of having attractive female characters caused Fallen Earth to redesign the faces of females to make them more feminine after complaints from players. While having attractive characters to play can make a game enjoyable, blatant sexualized characters in order to please the heterosexual male players is quite another thing. If you do enjoy having characters with revealing clothes, let that be an option of a skin; but having it as the default mode is a questionable choice of the developer. Of course, these are all games that are made for us to escape reality into a different world. That world may be a place of sexy nymphs and burly giants, but when you incorporate reality into games, you may need to follow the rules of reality. |
| Super Newbie Guide arrives in Eden Eternal Posted: 18 May 2012 12:37 PM PDT A new update for Eden Eternal has just launched, and should have newbies (and veterans) bouncing for joy. The update includes the “Super Newbie Guide,” a new program for new players that will offer a bunch of new benefits to help them get along in the game better. The update changes experience gains to make leveling up easier and safer against regular and elite enemies. Players will now also be able to teleport between the beginning village and Tranquil Hill, and gain a one day mount at levels 10, 20, and 26 (before earning a full-time Alpaca at level 30). The UI, map display, potion cooldowns, and pets have also all been improved. Veteran players will find the Crystal Cross Badge, which can be earned in territory battles based on fatigue levels (the higher, the fewer) that are reset every week. These can be used to purchase new vanity items. Eden Eternal is published by Aeria Games, which also publishes Dream of Mirror Online and Grand Fantasia.  Eden Eternal “Crystal Cross Badge Merchant” Gameplay Screenshot
Source: Aeria Games Launches Eden Eternal Update That Adds New Events, Badges, and a Host of Improvements to Help Beginning Players SANTA CLARA, Calif. – May 18th – Aeria Games, a leading global publisher of free-to-play online games, has released a brand-new content update for its anime MMORPG Eden Eternal, including intense new battles, daily recommended events, and a suite of features for new players called the "Super Newbie Guide." The Super Newbie Guide will help new players get acquainted with the game's mechanics and features as they level up faster than ever before. The combination of features will help new players get into the game faster while giving veteran players new events and vanity items to earn. The Super Newbie Guide includes the following benefits for beginning players: • Level 1 to 50 Adjustments: EXP and fame obtained from quests are adjusted so players can level up more quickly, and players are less vulnerable to monsters, including Elites. • Teleport: Players can save time by directly teleporting between the beginning village and Tranquil Hill when they reach a certain level or complete a particular quest. • Alpaca Mount: An Alpaca Mount (1 day) will be awarded to players at Lv10/20/26 to increase their speed before they receive a full-time Alpaca at Level 30. • Other Changes: The UI and map display make it easier to find NPCs, quest details, and other key information. Potion cooldowns are reduced, and pet attack power is increased. The Crystal Cross Badge, which players can use to purchase vanity items for their characters, is among the changes for veteran players. Players can obtain badges by participating in territory battles, where badges are distributed based on a player's fatigue level. Higher fatigue will result in fewer badges, but fatigue is reset to zero with each weekly update; players can start fresh every week. Daily recommended events, a new addition to the in-game event interface, give players new adventures each day. Players can complete a range of daily events to earn additional EXP, gold, Crystal Badges, and much more—check back every day! Published by Aeria Games, Eden Eternal is free to download on PCs and free-to-play. Gamers can learn more and play Eden Eternal by visiting http://edeneternal.aeriagames.com.
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| RuneScape announces new combat system Posted: 18 May 2012 12:25 PM PDT Jagex has announced an upcoming update for RuneScape that will “evolve” combat. The Evolution of Combat update will redesign RuneScape’s combat system completely, with an intent to offer a “more immersive and involving experience.” RuneScape members will be the first to try the system in a limited access closed beta, which will open registration on June 1 and begin on June 26 (running until September). So far, there’s little detail on just what this update entails, but with several months of beta testing, RuneScape players might want to be prepared.  RuneScape “Combat Metamorphosis” Gameplay Screenshot
Source: JAGEX ANNOUNCE THE EVOLUTION OF COMBAT – THE NEXT GENERATION OF RUNESCAPE COMBAT RUNESCAPE'S LARGEST EVER UPDATE TO LAUNCH AS LIMITED-ACCESS BETA ON 26TH JUNE Friday 18th May 2012, Cambridge, UK – Jagex, makers of RuneScape, the World's most popular and multi-award winning free-to-play massively multiplayer online adventure game, today unveiled the first details of the upcoming RuneScape combat update: The Evolution of Combat. The Evolution of Combat project will see the biggest change in any system in RuneScape's history. By bringing this eagerly anticipated update to life, Jagex will be completely redesigning RuneScape's combat system to offer players an even more immersive and involving experience. On release, the Evolution of Combat update will completely revolutionise the way players fight and interact in game. "It's impossible to downplay the significance of this update," stated Mark Ogilvie, RuneScape's lead designer. "A rework of the combat system has been the most requested update from our community, and thousands of man hours have gone into developing a more fluid, interactive and tactical combat system. The Evolution of Combat update will fundamentally change the way people play and view RuneScape forever." Due to the game-changing nature of the release, RuneScape members will have the opportunity to be among the first to trial the new system with a limited access closed beta; the first in the game's history. Beta registration will open to all RuneScape members on 1st June in preparation for the first beta entry on 26th June. The beta will run from 26th June until September and will allow testers the exclusive chance to preview the expansion before the rest of the world. Speaking about the beta, Mark Ogilvie continued, "We have always valued the views and feedback our community which is why we are so excited to be launching this game-changing update with a members' beta. By introducing this update with a limited-access beta, we are able to interact with our community in a completely new way and offer our members the chance to try the new features first, helping to shape the future of one of the most important elements of the game. I know players won't want to miss out on the chance to take part in this exclusive opportunity, so be sure to register your interest when registration opens on 1st June." Further details of The Evolution of Combat update will be unveiled in due course, and those wishing to keep up to date with the latest announcements are encouraged to visit www.RuneScape.com. Players wanting to take part in the exclusive access beta will need to be an existing member or sign up to RuneScape membership by the 1st June, and continue to be a member through the beta period. With The Evolution of Combat update on the horizon, there has never been a better time to start your RuneScape adventure. Visit www.RuneScape.com to create your free account today.
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| Conquer Online celebrates 9th anniversary Posted: 18 May 2012 12:13 PM PDT Conquer Online released in 2003, and is now celebrating its ninth year in service with a bundle of special events. Events for the anniversary will include a cross-server battle on May 19; special discounts in the game’s shopping mall; a free “Nurture” pack for all players that includes Heaven Blessing Scraps, 5X EXP Ball Scraps, and more; upgradeable prizes, special VIP gifts and veteran bonuses. Veterans who return to the game and claim special prize packs will also be eligible to win a free trip to China. Conquer Online is published by TQ Digital, which also publishes Eudemons Online and Crazy Tao. Conquer Online 9th Anniversary Video Source: Conquer Online 9th Anniversary Begins, New Free Trip to China!
Hong Kong – May 18, 2012 – Since the release in 2003, CO has proven itself to be one of the most successful MMO’s of its genre, spawning several expansion packs and subsequent titles, and introducing millions of players to the ancient Chinese martial arts world. During the month of May Conquer Online will begin in style with their 9 year anniversary, which will last from now through June! Now the venerable expansion-driven game is taking a moment to look back on its success with a grand anniversary celebration, including a grand free trip to China! Take a look at video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tjkMtp5XCs. “The TQ team insists on thinking differently about MMO’s, and the team is always trying to bring in new things to entertain our players. We listen, and we care. For the past 9 years, we’ve witnessed tremendous changes and improvements taking place in the game. And we believe the legend will continue as long as we have you together with us.” – Pan Deng, CO’s Chief Designer. The year of Dragon marks the 9th year for Conquer Online, which is quite a milestone for any game, and it deserves a grand celebration, and we want you to join us! During this one month celebration, players of Conquer Online will be able to experience a whole host of exciting events! You’ll be able to explore intriguing quests, share your cherished CO moments with the community, and win some fantastic prizes! We are even giving away spots to win a free trip to China! Now let’s take a sneak peak at what we’ve got for you: The CO 9th Anniversary Celebration is now raising the curtain. Get yourselves ready for the marvelous carnival in Conquer Online, this May!
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| First Spirit Tales content update coming May 23 Posted: 18 May 2012 11:56 AM PDT KoramGame has announced the first update for its new MMORPG, Spirit Tales. Released just recently into open beta, the new update will add a new instanced dungeon designed for players above level 40: Crisis of Jade Forest. This special dungeon will let players have the chance to win any item in the game (including some Item Mall-only items). This instance fills the map with tons of aggressive enemies and ten bosses for players to fight against. The dungeon can be run once a day. KoramGame also publishes Dragon Born.  Spirit Tales Gameplay Screenshot
Source: First Spirit Tales Content Update Coming May 23 KoramGame announced today that the first Spirit Tales content update will arrive on May 23, 2012. With only two weeks into the Spirit Tales open beta, players will already get a glimpse of some the exciting new content that’s in store for the game. A new instanced dungeon, known as the “Crisis of Jade Forest,” will be released, and will provide players with the opportunity to obtain any item in the game, including some that are usually only found in the Item Mall. The upcoming content update is only just the beginning. KoramGame promises to retain its rapid content release schedule well into the future, with bigger updates to keep Spirit Tales loaded with fresh new content. Key Feature: - New Instanced Dungeon: Familiar land becomes your new playground; except with more EXP and items than ever before. For more information on the new instanced dungeon, visit: http://forum.koramgame.com/thread-60427-1-1.html
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| Dragon Born Posted: 18 May 2012 10:28 AM PDT Dragon Born is an action RPG playable directly from your browser. Detailed 3D characters come to life on gorgeous backgrounds. Epic equipment, intense combat, and smooth gameplay has been put into the design of Dragon Born. The game offers a challenging, entertaining, and polished world to explore.  Publisher: KoramGame
Playerbase: ??
Graphics: Medium
Type: MMORPG
EXP Rate: ??
PvP: Yes
Filesize: N/A Pros: +High quality RPG in a browser. +Multiple mounts, equipment pieces, and weapons to get. +Friendly to solo and group play.
Cons: -Similar to other games. -Limited information currently.
  
OverviewDragon Born OverviewDragon Born is a browser based RPG featuring a variety of systems to cater to both casual and hardcore players. The game features four classes: Soldier, Priest, Mage, and Ranger. It features quest-based gameplay, as well as dungeon delving. Solo players may hire NPCs to help them with more difficult content. Guilds, known as Legions, give various perks like extra experience from monsters. Mounts in Dragon Born level up as well, as you ride them, and can learn additional skills. Dragon Born ScreenshotsDragon Born Featured VideoClick here to view the embedded video. Full ReviewDragon Born ReviewComing Soon. . . ScreenshotsDragon Born ScreenshotsComing Soon . . . VideosDragon Born VideosOfficial Trailer Click here to view the embedded video. LinksDragon Born LinksOfficial Game Page System RequirementsDragon Born System RequirementsComing Soon . . . |
