General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article


Hulu Revenue Up 60% in 2011

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 03:08 PM PST

huluHulu CEO Jason Kilar has posted on the Hulu blog a rundown of how the video streaming service did in 2011. Despite the general annoyance many users express about its content restrictions and ads, Hulu had quite a good 2011. Revenue was up 60% last year to $420 million, which exceeds the company's expectations. 

Kilar also updated us on Hulu Plus numbers, which are growing at a rate double that of 2010. There are now 1.5 million paying subscribers, and Kilar expects Plus subscriptions to account for over half of the business in 2012. Hulu hopes to attract those users by adding more content. In 2011, the site's selection increased by 105%, Kilar said. 

The blog post goes on to praise Hulu's innovative dual revenue stream, meaning both ads and subscriptions. Kilar suggests that content owners would be much better off with Hulu over other streaming services. We know who he was talking about, but he failed to mention Netflix by name. How do you feel about Hulu?

Google Launches Android Design Site to Promote Better App Design

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 02:51 PM PST

androidGoogle's Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) update is perhaps the biggest departure for the platform since its inception. There is a completely new visual style, and Mountain View is finally approaching the platform with design in mind. To those ends, Google has launched the new Android Design site to help app developers make beautiful and consistent apps that fit in with the new Android aesthetic.

The entire Android framework has been overhauled with the new Holo theme, which is based on sharp edges, blue tones, and clarity. The Android design site is not written in a way that only programmers can understand, a nice departure for Google. it explains how icons should be designed, where to use gestures, how navigation should work, and a lot more. 

It's not like Google is going to reject apps from the Market for not following this document. The entire thing is framed more as a polite suggestion. Going forward, Android developers will finally have a readily available guide for designing attractive apps. Do you think developers will embrace Google's new dev guidelines. 

How To Permanently Turn Off G+ Personal Results In Google Search

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 01:24 PM PST

Two days ago, Google started mixing Google+ connections with general search results. Pics, photos, shared links, posts, authored articles – if someone in your Circles shared something related to what you're looking for, it shows up in your search results. Google calls it "Search Plus Your World;" I call it annoying. When the first page of results is dominated by "Personal Results," that's a problem. And to make it worse, Google doesn't exactly make it easy to turn the "feature" off for good.

The "Hide Personal Results" button on the search page is a temporary solution but the problem rears its ugly head again the very next time your search for something. If you're drowning in useless search results suggested by your 2000-plus Circle buddies, here's how to swing the Personal Results banhammer permanently in less than 15 seconds.

First saunter over to Google.com, then open up your options by clicking on the gear icon in the upper-right hand corner of the screen. Select "Search Settings" from the list of options. (If you have a customized iGoogle setup, get to the classic Google homepage by selecting the gear icon, then the "Classic Home" option. You can return to iGoogle after disabling Personal Results. Thanks to Ghost6007 and Frances the Mute for pointing this out in the comments!)

Scroll down until you see the Personal Results options. By default, "Use personal results" is selected. Click the "Do not use personal results" bubble.

Now, just click "Save" at the bottom of the screen and you'll never be bothered by those annoying and only tangentially on-topic Personal Results again! We're interested in hearing what you think, though: do you like the inclusion of G+-related Personal Results in your everyday searches, or are you on your way to disable the feature right now?

Connect with Brad on Google+, just don't expect him to see your posts in Google Search results!

The Game Boy: Best Games You Missed in 2011 – To The Moon

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 12:49 PM PST

My favorite games of the year were Bastion, Skyrim, and the Witcher 2. Wow, that was easy. And hey, I already wrote extensively about all of them. Convenient! So instead, I'm gonna discuss some of 2011's lesser-known greats. Previously, I turned into a quivering pile of mush on BioShock 2: Minerva's Den and The Binding of Isaac. And now, a game that may very well top both of them: masterful indie heart-breaker To The Moon. 

To The Moon made me cry. Like, eight times. And I don't mean in the "single dramatic tear meandering down my cheek" sense. I'm talking about gushing waterfalls of salty face liquid. You'd have thought everyone I'd ever known and loved acted like they never knew or loved me and then promptly died. Of a disease whose main side effect is tragic irony.   

And that's weird, because I figured myself one who'd be impervious to the game's barrage of gut-wrenching sadness bullets. I mean, its two controllable (notice I didn't say "main") characters often turn humor into a weapon of mass face-palm-worthy irritation, and – aside from largely unneeded end-of-area puzzles – there's hardly even any interactivity to speak of. You walk around and click on predetermined objects. That's it. I'm a gamer. Why should I care about any of that? 

However, if nothing else, let To The Moon serve as a lesson on why reductionist thinking is Bad and Wrong. Because if I'd given the game the cold shoulder over those concerns – or even just written it off as another tear-jerking, smile-seeking indie missile – I'd have missed out on one of the most genuinely heartfelt stories I've ever experienced. Videogame or not. 

The gist of the game is as follows: You "play" as – or really, experience events from the perspective of – two Future Doctors, Rosalene and Watts, with a machine that allows them to grant people's dying wish by altering their memories as they lay at death's door. In this case, it's an old man named Johnny who's dealing with a rather pesky, er, coma. He wants to go to the moon, but here's the thing: he honestly doesn't know why. So you hop inside his head and go on a big scavenger hunt for items from his past that might reveal the origin of his oddly uncharacteristic desire.

Basically, it's Inception meets Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. But there's that pesky reductionist thinking again, and as before, it doesn't hold water. To The Moon's conceit is just a vehicle for incredibly nuanced characters and a story that unfolds, well, backwards. But it still somehow feels like it's moving forward. Ultimately, the game explores characters' entire lives from finish to start – acting as the boat-rocking cannon blast to games like Dragon Age II, which have merely dipped a pinky toe into exploring their timestreams. I'm pretty sure its creators are story wizards

Moreover, unlike, say, Final Fantasy VII – whose most-revered moment is undoubtedly its Shocking and Unexpected Death Scene – To The Moon prefers to extract all sorts of tears for all sorts of different reasons. Whether in action or storytelling, most games know only one language: brute force. To The Moon, on the other hand, applies a far gentler touch and runs a full gamut of emotions. It's not really about the tears at all; it's about the moments in between them. That, above all else, is key, so let me explain.

(SKIP THE FOLLOWING IF YOU WISH TO AVOID SPOILERS.) To The Moon first made me cry when I realized why there were so many origami rabbits. Before she passed away, Johnny's wife, River, obsessively crafted mountains of the fuzz-free fuzzballs, but her intentions were a complete mystery to Johnny. Ultimately, he wrote it off as yet another quirk that arose from River's rather severe case of autism, which – for obvious reasons – always put a strain on communication in their relationship. Slowly but surely, however, the game peeled back the layers of meaning surrounding River's excessive obsession. 

The large-scale arts and crafts project began after – when they were middle-aged adults – Johnny confessed the reason he first asked River out way back in high school. He thought she was unique, and he wanted to use her to avoid being another "typical" person. "Points is, I know what I need," he had told a friend over lunch. "And she has it." It was, admittedly, sickeningly self-serving, but he was a dumb kid at the time. Clearly, that wasn't how he felt anymore. From that day forward, however, she became an origami machine – right up to the day she died many years later. And Johnny kept each and every rabbit – right up to the day he finally joined her. 


(SPOILERS CONTINUE.) So, mystery solved? Hardly. Rabbits appeared elsewhere in Johnny's memories as well. On Johnny and River's wedding day, the mostly happy couple encountered a bunny that'd lost a rather lopsided battle with a truck. River refused to leave the flattened, obviously flat-lined animal's side even though she and Johnny sort of, you know, had something of an important engagement to attend. It didn't make any sense. The memory ended with Johnny simply pleading for River to join him instead of mourning some random forest creature. That, however, didn't bring Rosalene and Watts any closer to the bottom of the rabbit-themed rabbit hole. 

Stumped, they nearly gave up on fulfilling Johnny's last wish. But then Watts discovered that – for reasons a bit too complicated (and messed up) to go into here – Johnny had been put on memory destroying drugs as a very young child. So Rosalene and Watts managed to force their way into memories Johnny didn't even remember. And, among other things, they discovered the real first time he met River. 

Johnny had wandered away from his mother during an annual festival. In doing so, he discovered a cliff-side with a positively glorious view of the stars. "Hey," a voice rang, piercing clean through his moment of silent awe, "that's my spot." It was, of course, River. Eventually, the two began to discuss stars – specifically, what they were. In confidence, she revealed that she believed stars to be lighthouses – shining and beautiful, but individually separate from all others. Though she never admitted it, the implication was obvious: she identified with them. Her autism alienated her from other people. She was alone.

She quickly changed the subject to tracing constellations, presenting Johnny with a puzzle: what did the moon and its nearby star clusters form? He studied it intently before reaching an age-appropriate loud and overjoyed conclusion: A BUNNY. "...And the moon is its big, round tummy!" Then Johnny's mom came a calling. Before he fell in step behind her, however, he made a promise to River: he'd meet her same time, same place next year. "But what if one of us moves or gets lost?" she asked. "Then we'll meet on the moon," was his exuberant reply. 

And then everything clicked for me. The origami began when River realized that Johnny didn't remember the first time they'd met. Rabbits always meant so much to her because she linked them to her love for Johnny. But he didn't get it. And she didn't understand how to express it. And she died without being able to do so. As soon as the lightbulb went off in my head, I put on a waterworks show that probably could've put Seaworld out of business. (SPOILERS END HERE.)

And that's barely even touching on all the incredibly happy moments in their relationship that To The Moon depicts. Or the myriad of other equally important items the game constantly references. Or the entire third act, which could have told me I'd won the lottery and the chance to punch each and every person involved in the creation of SOPA, and I'd have still started bawling. Or the ending, which is one of the most happysad things I've ever seen. I still can't even read about it without tearing up. 

But there's one commonality between all those events: They are by no means flashes-in-the-pan. To The Moon builds to them meticulously. Item-by-item. Moment-by-moment. It rarely spells things out for you, though. This is a game that expects your brain to flex its cortexes and do some very heavy lifting. Don't take that to mean, however, that To The Moon blindly shoves you into shark-infested waters and expects you to sink, swim, or cry so hard that the sharks actually evolve a conscience. It's not merely some ill-fitting story masquerading as a "smart" work of "art" –  a square peg forcing its way into the gaming medium's round hole.

To The Moon works well as a game precisely because it so thoroughly focuses on one gameplay element. You collect items. Over-and-over-and-over. That's pretty much it. But in doing so, I became extremely well acquainted with each and every one of them on an individual basis. I was better able to remember details: when, where, how, why. As a result, I rarely had to short circuit my brain to understand more nuanced plot points. The entire process was shockingly natural. In its mechanical simplicity, To The Moon is utterly brilliant. It is not, as one might say, rocket science.

Neither, might I add, should be your decision to buy this game. Even my spoiler section hardly scratched the surface of what makes To The Moon so wonderful. Play it. Experience it. Love it. Oh, and don't forget to bring some tissues.

Symantec Called A Scareware Scammer, Slapped With Lawsuit

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 11:37 AM PST

We've all seen scareware in action: that especially annoying type of malware that pops up thousands of windows, each shrieking OH NO YOUR COMPUTER HAS UMPTEEN MILLION VIRUSES and extolling users to purchase fake antivirus software (using a credit card, of course). Real antivirus programs like Symantec's Norton line are designed to ferret out malicious programs like that and kick them to the curb. However, one unhappy user claims that Symantec's nothing better than a scareware-peddling scammer itself, and he's slapped the company with a class-action suit for falsely pushing its wares.

James Gross claims that Symantec's PC Tools Registry Mechanic, PC Tools Performance Toolkit and Norton Utilities software all claim, "in an extremely ominous manner, that harmful errors, privacy risks, and other computer problems exist on the user's PC, regardless of the real condition of the consumer's computer."

Forbes reports that Gross ponied up $30 to fix the problems found by Registry Mechanic, but "computer forensics experts" he hired later told him that Symantec programs are full of crap and always say that systems have issues. Skimming through the complaint – which Forbes reproduces in full – Gross says that Symantec knows that the tools' claims of "Low System Health" and "High Priority Errors" -- in big, red, scary letters nonetheless -- are false.

Symantec, of course, disagrees, and when Forbes reporter Andy Greenberg tried out Registry Mechanic, it never asked him to buy the full-fledged program despite finding high priority issues. In fact, it fixed them for free.

Then again, Symantec has been criticized for its heavy-handed scare tactics before. Do you think the case has any merit?

CES 2012: What We've Seen So Far

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 11:29 AM PST

CES, that craziest of trade shows, is underway again and two of our intrepid editors are exploring the show floor and getting a first look at some of this years biggest tech products. We'll have a more detailed writeup about CES 2012 tomorrow, but for now take a look at some of the most interesting things we've spotted so far.

Read on for images of 36 killer new products from CES 2012!

Browser Extension of the Week: Google Translate

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 11:02 AM PST

gtDepending on your state of awareness and the depth of your internet search habits, you may have noticed that not everyone posting content to the internet can speak or write in English. Shocking, right? You could disregard the foreign characters and move on to the next page returned to you by your search results, but there's a very good possibility that the piece of information you've been looking for is hidden amidst all those crazy looking words. Instead of risking the loss of an important piece of data, Chrome users can turn to Google Translate, our Browser Extension of the Week.

Leveraging the same power as Google's website-based translation service, the Google Translate extension cuts out the linguistic middle man by translating whatever page you're currently viewing into the language of your choice. Once installed, all users need do to translate a page is click the icon and wait. In under a minute you'll be reading the best english Google's translation algorithm can afford.  

While the extension's default language is set to English, there's nothing stopping users from switching it up to any of the other language options offered by Google. Want an American English language newspaper translated into Welsh? By tinkering with the extension's settings, making the linguistic leap takes nothing more than the a single mouse click. 

 

 

ARM Boss Disses Power Performance In Intel's Mobile Processors

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 11:01 AM PST

As we've already told you, Intel's finally – after what seems like ages – making the leap into smartphones and tablets with their Atom Z2460 processors. (Not familiar with Atom Z2460? The line previously went by the code-name "Medfield.") Thanks to deals with Motorola and Lenovo, we may be bombarded with Atom-powered smartphones later in the year, but to hear ARM CEO Warren East tell it, we'll be getting bombarded with, well, smartphones with crappy mobile processors.

"(Intel has) taken some designs that were never meant for mobile phones and they've literally wrenched those designs and put them into a power-performance space which is roughly good enough for mobile phones,"  Reuters reports East as saying. Tell us, Warren, what do you really think?

He didn't stop there, though; East was kind enough to deal Intel a back-handed compliment, too. ""Are they ever going to be the leaders in power efficiency? No, of course not. But they have a lot more to offer."

Nothing beats a cat fight between C-Level executives. Speaking of which, did you see how Microsoft vice presidents began mocking LG on Twitter this morning after the LG patent license was announced? No? Head over to TechCrunch for a synopsis – it's funny stuff.

2011 Ranks as "Second Worst Year in History" for PCs in the U.S., IDC Says

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 10:34 AM PST

Market research firms International Data Corporation (IDC) and Gartner typically post similar numbers when analyzing the PC market, and so when Gartner reported U.S. PC shipments dropped 6 percent in the fourth of 2011, we knew it would only be a matter of time before IDC posted equally despairing numbers. Actually, IDC's figures aren't quite as bad, indicating that stateside shipments dropped a little less than 5 percent, but don't take solace in that number.

"The U.S. market had its second worst year in history in 2011, dropping nearly 5 percent from 2010. Although not as severe as the 11.7 percent contraction following the Y2K buildup and subsequent tech crisis of 2001, 2011 was particularly affected by HDD supply constraints, weak demand, and a difficult competitive landscape," IDC said. "The fourth quarter's HDD supply shortage has had a notable effect on fourth quarter shipments."

Egads, that's pretty rough. Worldwide shipments did much better and totaled 92.7 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011, down 0.2 percent compared to the same quarter in 2010, but was up 1.6 percent for the full year.

In addition to the HDD crisis caused by flooding in Thailand, IDC blamed the weak regional performance in the U.S. to "market saturation" and a struggling economy that "continues to weigh considerably on consumer demand." At the same time, IDC notes U.S. consumers are waiting on new products and technologies, "promising a new refresh cycle starting in 3Q12 and beyond with a return to positive growth in the mid-term."

Roundup: AMD Flaunts Next-Gen Trinity APU At CES

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 10:33 AM PST

AMD didn't stay silent while Intel and Qualcomm were talking up their new chips and business opportunities this week. In fact, AMD made waves of its own at CES with an impressive tech demo that showed off the capabilities of its next-gen Trinity APU chips, which are scheduled to launch later this year. The company also outlined some of its plans for the ultrathin notebook market.

We'd tell you about the tech demo, but the guys from HotHardware caught it on tape. Check out the video below, and make sure you watch it all the way to the end.

Computerworld caught up with some AMD execs at the show and quizzed them on the company's plan for Trinity. AMD marketing manager Raymond Drumbeck told the publication that the company plans on pushing hard in the Ultrabook market – oops, "ultrathin;" Intel owns the rights to "Ultrabook" – and said the company can hit a starting price of $500 or less for Trinity-sporting notebooks. Both dual-core and quad-core mobile Trinity APUs are planned; Drumbeck claims the 17w chips will offer the same performance as current A-series Llano chips, but consume only half the energy. More powerful desktop variants of Trinity are also planned.

Meanwhile, the folks at TechPowerUp managed to snag a pic of the ultrathin, standard laptop, and desktop variants of the Trinity APU. They're lined up in that order in the image at the top of this post.

AMD's analyst meeting is scheduled for February 2nd; expect to hear a lot more about Trinity and the rest of AMD's plans for 2012 then.

MMO News

MMO News


Mail.Ru announces RiotZone for 2012

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 05:54 PM PST

Mail.Ru, publisher of Juggernaut and other titles, has announced that it will release a new browser-based MMO, RiotZone, in early 2012.

Designed with casual gamers in mind, RiotZone offers tactical gameplay in short game sessions. Players become the commanders of mercenary squads serving either the fanatical Scarlet Alliance or the methodical Crown Coalition. Battles include forays, ambushes, interceptions, and capturing. Players must also set up camp, gather resources, train their units, and earn new equipment. The game will also feature several PvP options.

riotzone-art

Riot Zone Artwork

Source:

If you Lose your Nerve, you Lose the Game

Mail.Ru Games announces the browser game RiotZone

Hamburg, – January 12, 2012 – Mail.Ru Games, the publisher of internationally successful online games such as Legend: Legacy of the Dragon, Allods Online and Juggernaut announced today that their new browser-based MMO RiotZone will be released at the beginning of 2012. In a country disrupted by civil war, gamers engage in ferocious tactical combat in a tropical setting. With short game sessions, during which gamers single-mindedly adopt the special skills of their units, RiotZone is especially appealing to casual gamers. The comic style and exaggerated characters offer a pleasant distraction from conventional strategy games. RiotZone is free to play and does not require a client or installation.

Revolt in the Jungle

In Merania, civil war is raging. Two rival organizations have declared war on the Dictator: the fighters of the Scarlet Alliance are striving for the rule of the people, and are known for their fanaticism. The Crown Coalition prefers a cold-minded, business-like approach. As commanders of mercenary squads, players place themselves in the service of one of these organizations. Leading bold forays, planning ambushes, intercepting convoys or capturing military bases – a leader has a lot to do! There is also no time to rest between fights either. Commanders are in charge of setting up camp, gathering resources and training their units; they control the finances and provide new equipment. From level five on, players can use a multitude of enthralling PvP options such as team combat or invasions of enemy territory. Mass battles will decide who takes control of the game zone.

Conquer Online – Invasion of Pirates Press Preview

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 01:40 PM PST

Today marks the official launch of Conquer Online’s latest expansion, Invasion of Pirates. This expansion offers players the chance to play as a pirate, a brand new class with some interesting twists from Conquer Online’s usual play style. MMOHut was one of the first to get a look at the pirate gameplay in a special closed beta preview of the expansion.

conquer-online-pirate-creat

A pirate in Conquer Online starts out as any other character does, with an automatic Beginner’s Quest in the Twin City. Pirate trainers are located here in the city with other trainers, and the quests remain the same as other classes. However, you’ll find that your pirate begins with a new class of weapon – the rapier. This is one of two weapons a pirate uses, and will be the mainstay for the pirate character until it reaches level 40. Pirates also start out with their own dashing style of coats, looking completely prepared to raid the waters.

conquer-online-pirates-gale

Starting pirates will find two abilities as their mainstays: Gale Bomb and Blade Tempest. Gale Bomb offers a large AoE impact, along with an impressive explosion, to detonate enemies, but sits on an 8 second cooldown. Blade Tempest, on the other hand, sends the pirate sweeping with their rapier in a single direction, cutting through enemies in a single motion while doing 90% weapon damage. Both of these abilities offer important combinations in later pirate life, but as a new pirate, they each offer their own strengths. Blade Tempest seems particularly effective when cutting through multiple enemies, and is a recommended triple combination before level 90, when combinations truly begin to shine.

conquer-online-pirate-gear

At level 40, along with a class promotion, the pirate also obtains their first pistol. The pistol is the pirate’s secondary weapon, but remains as important as the rapier. Both weapons remain equipped at the same time, which allows the pirate to combine pistol skills with rapier skills to introduce new combinations. The first pistol skill, Eagle Eye, deals damage to a single target, unlike the pirate’s initial AoE skills. This damage is more powerful, and also plays more importance once level 90 is reached and a key ability is unlocked: Black Spots. Black Spots is applied by Blade Tempest, and boosts Eagle Eye’s damage, which – when combined with other skills – leads to some powerful combinations in battle.

conquer-online-pirate-blade

Because of the nature of combos and skills with the pirate, many of which are on cooldowns, combo planning is essential. There are several possible combinations depending on a pirate’s battle situation, including XP skills that offer powerful barrages of damage. Knowing how each skill synergizes, and how to best manage individual or group targets, is essential, but the flow of combat is still evenly paced. More interesting is how pirates play out in PvP: pirates who know their skill combinations well may end up dominating, while players who fight hastily may suffer. Pirates also are unique in that they gain half the PK points other classes do, in exchange for a higher chance at obtaining loot from their enemies.

What we’re definitely sure of after experiencing the Pirate: these newcomers to Conquer Online certainly aren’t scurvy-dogs. With the new style of play – and some interesting combinations – pirates feel like a breath of fresh sea-air to Conquer Online. The expansion is available now for free download in Conquer Online, so put on your pirate hats and give it a try!

The Godfather: Five Families

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 12:10 PM PST

The Godfather: Five Families is a social browser-based strategy game by Kabam. Choose from one of the five families, and build a name for yourself by constructing buildings and creating influence in your neighborhood. Fight and defeat other families in New York in order to take control of the city.

Publisher: Kabam
Playerbase: Medium
Graphics: Low
Type: MMO
EXP Rate: Medium
PvP: Open after 7 day safety period
Platform: Browser

Pros: +Excellent on keeping the player on track. +Can be played in short bursts. +Polished interface

Cons: –Repetitive gameplay. –Little to do in between gameplay. –Obtaining resources can take a great amount of time.

Overview

The Godfather: Five Families Overview

The Godfather: Five Families is a browser MMO strategy based game. You play the role of an up-and-coming mob boss in the city of New York, whose family has been stuck in a rut financially and authoritatively. Focusing on building an empire (Constructing apartments, cement factories, steel mills, hideouts, and restaurants.) in order to gain influence in your neighborhood. You start off with a dilapidated estate; you must level up a variety of buildings on the estate to keep up with your growing empire. Once you train troops you can attack nearby cityscapes in order to assert power and collect resources, and stock your armory with procured weapons and vehicles.

The Godfather: Five Families Screenshots

The Godfather: Five Families Featured Video

Full Review

The Godfather: Five Families Full Review

By M. Hauschel

Based on The Godfather, The Godfather: Five Families has the elements of organized crime families in New York during 70's, that you would expect. You work to build up your family's influence by building in your neighborhood, and battling other families in New York in order to take control of the city. Each battle won, makes you one step closer to being the most powerful family in the game.

Starting the Game
Creating an account is fairly simple. You're given a few choices that allow registration; you can create an account by signing up with your Google or Facebook account, or you can create a Kabam account.

Once you're past registration, you'll be prompted to choose a female or male avatar. There are slots where more avatars will be available some time in the future, but as of now you're only able to choose from two. Shortly after making your selection, you're prompted to create a username for yourself.

From what it seems, there doesn't really appear to be an advantage from choosing one family from another, as in affecting your gameplay. Although, players have taken up to choosing one family from the others, with the end result of that one particular family dominating the landscape. Once you've chosen a family, within the game you can join or create a crew with other players. Depending on the crew, they can provide other players with resources, weapons, and protection. It should be mentioned that when you start, for one week (7 days) you are under protection. As in, you cannot be attack by other players for a week. So, you're able to build yourself up with little fear of being bombarded by other players.

five-families

Building an Empire

When you start you'll be prompted by your consigliere, or right-hand man, on what to do. He'll give you jobs to complete, with incentives once completed. The consigliere is really helpful in order to understand the layout out of the game, and what is important to focus on.
In order to build your influence in the neighborhood, you're going to build a variety of buildings. The apartment and hideouts produce x amount of cash per hour, depending on what level they are. The restaurants produce food, which are needed in order to train troops. Steel mills and cement factories produce steel and cement, which are needed for construction projects and research. Overall, a decent amount of each resource is needed in order to construct buildings, research in the library, train troops, and level up buildings.

view-of-neighborhood

Time to Play the Waiting Game

This is where is gets a bit tedious. It takes quite a while to obtain enough resources to complete jobs. With the downside of not being able to occupy your time with other types of tasks to complete, while you're waiting for resources to build up. Although, you can walk away from the game and the resources will collect on their own while you're away. Depending on what you build or level up, these tasks can take a great amount of time as well. The game's premium currency is useful in this area if you want to build rapidly. You can purchase diamonds that can be used to purchase clocks with different amounts of time that will reduce the wait-time. If you have the patience, it's not necessary to spend a dime in order to expand your empire.

train-troops

Take It to the Streets

Your objective is to dominate New York, but in order to do that you need troops. When you collect enough resources, you can train troops via the hideouts in the neighborhood. Depending on how many you train at a time, and which type of troops you train, this can take as little as 53 seconds to several hours. Some types of troops require you obtain a certain level area of expertise, researched from the library on the estate. These 15 areas range from Cooking to Corruption (Foundations for any successful family.). In order to not remove your protection status in game, there are NPC gangs you can attack in the meantime. But once the protection status is lifted, you can attack (And be attacked) freely.

victory

Picture Perfect

The layout of the game is straightforward, and incredibly easy to navigate. The shortcuts at the bottom of the screen and the left of the screen, allow you to access the most needed areas quickly. They make sense, intuitively, and are not clunky in anyway. While the game itself is not entirely too active, it is presented quite well. The Godfather themes are sprinkled throughout the game, and are done successfully. From the gentle music that has tones of foreshadowing, to the visual style that evokes classical paintings. Scattered sparingly throughout the gameplay are animations that are similar to cinemagraphs (A still with slight movement). The interface is smooth, and provides gameplay with little hassle, while also being aesthetically pleasing.

estate

Final Verdict: Good

This is a game that can be played in small burst of time, which is great for someone who cannot spend a lot of time on a game. With the flourishing community, someone looking for a social game would enjoy the PvP in this game. While The Godfather: Five Families is tedious and sluggish at times, it makes up for it with the polished and user-friendly interface.

Screenshots

The Godfather: Five Families Screenshots

Links

The Godfather: Five Families Links

Official Site

EA’s Play4Free reaches 25 million players

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 11:20 AM PST

Electronic Arts (EA)’s free-to-play game portal, Play4Free, has reached 25 million active players worldwide. Both Battlefield Heroes and Need for Speed World now boast 10 million registered players, while other titles combined offer 5 million registered players.

To celebrate, EA is offering special virtual items as follows (redeemable until January 17):

* Battlefield Heroes – Promo code EQ9M-TYYT-TXR3-5GU3 for 300 Battlefunds

* Need for Speed World – Promo code EWPD-3KGA-VBVF-9HYS for 750 SpeedBoost

Play4Free includes Battlefield Heroes, Need for Speed World, Battlefield Play4Free, Battleforge, Lord of Ultima, and Dragon Age Legends.

need-for-speed-world-police-crash

Need for Speed World Gameplay Screenshot

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EA'S PLAY4FREE PORTFOLIO TOPS 25 MILLION PLAYERS WORLDWIDE
The digital gaming revolution is in full effect and EA is leading the charge.

GUILDFORD, UK, 12th February 2012 – Electronic Arts Inc. announced today that it continues to break new ground in the free-to-play gaming market with a community of active players that has reached 25 million worldwide. Pioneering the fast-growing freemium gaming category is a centerpiece in EA's strategy to reinvent itself as a leader in digital gaming. Two flagship titles, Battlefield Heroes™ and Need for Speed™ World, each reached 10 million registered players earlier this month. In addition, Battlefield™ Play4Free, Dragon Age™ Legends, Battleforge™ and Lord of Ultima™ bring the total community across the 25 million mark, with a combined 5 million players.

To celebrate this milestone, EA is thanking the community with the release of several special edition virtual items. Battlefield Heroes players can redeem the following promo code,EQ9M-TYYT-TXR3-5GU3, for 300 Battlefunds* from today until January 17th, 2012; which can be used to purchase powerful in-game weapons, vanity items, widgets, and more. In Need for Speed World, from today until January 17th, 2012, players can redeem promo code, EWPD-3KGA-VBVF-9HYS, for 750 SpeedBoost* that can be used towards the purchase of cool licensed cars, performance upgrades and a wide variety of aftermarket parts.
"Developing a community of 25 million players is a remarkable achievement. It is a testament to the explosive growth of the free-to-play market and a reflection of EA's commitment to spearheading the digital transformation. We plan to continue to innovate in the category, introduce new gameplay that delights players and keeps them coming back for more," said Sean Decker, Play4Free, Vice President. "For our teams, this is an incredibly exciting time to be making games as the audience continues to grow and diversify."

With regular content updates, rewards and giveaways, EA's Play4Free titles boast vibrant and active communities. Since the launch of Battlefield Heroes, over 8 billion bullets have been fired, with nearly 532 million in-game kills.  In Need for Speed World, over 15 million races and 22 million pursuits are logged every month with gamers from 237 countries playing**.

This month, EA's Play4Free portfolio continues to buzz with activity and updates. Need for Speed World is releasing a series of new cars, starting with the 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S that went live on January 10th.  The month will continue to see an impressive rollout of vehicles from exotics to muscles to beloved classics. Battlefield Heroes has a fresh slate of clothing items and weapons launching in the coming weeks as well.  In December, the Play4Free Studio, Phenomic, also announced their new, upcoming browser based MMO strategy title Command & ConquerTM Tiberium Alliances, which is now available in Closed Beta. Sign up for a chance to access the beta today at http://alliances.commandandconquer.com.

Conquer Online launches Invasion of Pirates

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 10:43 AM PST

The Invasion of Pirates expansion has arrived in Conquer Online today, offering players a new class and more.

Pirates make themselves available as a class for the first time in Conquer Online for any player, new or old. This class uses rapiers and pistols, as well as hefty bombs, and offers a unique skill cooldown system where combos make a huge impact on their success in battle. With them, the expansion also brings Gale Shallows, an area for players to discover new quests, monsters, and more. New servers, and new player packs, coincide with the expansion’s release.

Conquer Online is also hosting a Black Flag Design Event rewarding over $3,500 total in prizes, in which the winning design will earn its place in the game and a 50% revenue share with the designer.

Conquer Online is published by TQ Digital, which also publishes Crazy Tao and Eudemons Online.

Conquer Online: Invasion of Pirates Launch Trailer

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Conquer Online's New Expansion Launches Today, Celebrates with Contest to Win $3,500 in Cash Prizes!
The Pirates Have Landed! Now They Need Fans to Design their Jolly Roger Flag

HONG KONG – January 12, 2012

The long-awaited expansion to the popular free-to-play online Action RPG Conquer Online, titled Invasion of Pirates, raises its Jolly Roger flag in celebration of today's launch. The new expansion introduces the swashbucklin' Pirate class to the non-stop action of the game. With a slew of malicious new abilities, the shores of Gale Shallows to explore, as well as new monsters and boss battles, this is easily one of the biggest expansions to date in Conquer Online.

The new Pirate class not only introduces modern gunplay to the traditional Chinese combat between ninjas, monks and Taoists, but it also brings an entirely new playstyle to the experience. Players will need every bit of firepower they can get, as bands of these nasty pirates begin to arrive upon a newly discovered island in search of a dark and mysterious treasure. It will be up to players to ensure that these pirates do not succeed in their mission!

Those familiar with Conquer Online know that the team likes to celebrate in style, and the launch of the new expansion today is no exception. Conquer Online is holding the Black Flag Design Event with cash prizes for the winners totaling over $3,500 USD! Fans can design their own Pirate flags and enter to win the cash prizes. The winning designs will be implemented into the game, and every time another player purchases one of these flags, the designer will receive 50% of the sale.

New severs have been added to the game so players can join now and enjoy countless hours of seaworthy entertainment with the Invasion of Pirates expansion and the events celebrating the launch, both online and offline. Players who join now will receive a special item pack with several helpful items to excel in their adventure.

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